The Fire of an Ocean
by MarsStarPower
Summary: Maureen is brought to live at the Avengers compound while they determine how much of a threat she is. As Peter gets close to Maureen, her experiences start to give him flashbacks he hasn't had in years, ones the rest of the team does not know about. Maureen and Peter slowly realize they are going to have to help each other survive.
1. Chapter 1

Important story notes:  
This takes place after the fixing of the Snap, but Tony and Nat both lived. Clint is dead, but everyone else within The Avengers is basically intact. Tony has both the facility upstate, and Stark tower.

The first time they knew of her existence was when an explosion tore through just over two acres of land in middle-of-nowhere Virginia. Hours and thousands of gallons of water later, police found the remains of a 40-year-old man next to an untouched, though panicked, teen girl. It wasn't much longer before SHIELD got involved.

Fury, ever the delegator, tasked Tony with the job of taking on her guardianship. Because after you start raising one super teen, what's one more?

Peter remembers seeing her for the first time, just two weeks before. Her clothes were charred, though they looked like they would have survived the blast if it weren't for the several rips at odd intervals in her shirt and jeans. He'd watched from his room as she'd been led from the black SUV, eyes warily taking in the lush countryside and monstrosity of a building in front of her.

Her hair was black but was clearly dyed. He could see bright red roots creating a streak down the top of her head.

Between his crime fighting schedule, and her 'adjustment period' as Tony called it, that was the last he saw of her for almost a week. By the time he spoke to her in person, he'd heard quite a bit about her from Nat and Bucky. Bruce and Steve were much more tight-lipped, ever the gentlemen who refused to gossip about others. Nat and Bucky had less reservations about gossip, which had surprised Peter after he had moved in what he liked to call the 'Top-Secret-But-Not-Really-Top-Secret-Bunker." Or "bunker" for short.

He still swears that much of Nat and Bucky's interactions with him at the beginning were to help him feel more acclimated after May's death. The irony of having saved the world, only to come back and find out his aunt had terminal cancer did not escape Peter.

Most of their interactions have been short, awkward, and to the point so far. Their first was less interaction, more role call. She'd nodded politely, but hesitantly at him in greeting.

"Maureen Morris."

"Hey, Maureen, I'm Peter." He'd held out his hand to shake hers. The sound of her heart rate speeding up didn't elude his enhanced hearing. After a few staccato thuds, she'd accepted his hand and shaken it quickly, and loosely. Up close, he took in the paleness of her skin, the dark circles ringed under her eyes. She was a little on the chunkier side, what Aunt May would've stubbornly called 'baby fat' though she was clearly around his age. Tony had led her towards one of the training rooms after that. They'd needed to fireproof the room before they could get an inventory of her powers.

Typically he sees her now during meals, to which she just started coming. Before Tony was sending food to the Med Bay where Bruce was still monitoring her, and where it was safer in case she lost control of her powers. Nat had disclosed to Peter that Maureen seemed to be having nightmares with similar reactions as him. If it were anyone other than one of the team who immediately thought of Peter when nightmares were mentioned, he would've been embarrassed. But given everything they'd been through together, he wasn't really that upset about the comparison. Instead, it made him wonder what she felt after waking up. What were her reactions? Did she wake up with fire eating the things around her, like he woke, halfway up a wall?

But most of all, he wondered: what was it she saw in her nightmares?


	2. Chapter 2

Author Notes: For purposes of this story, Hulk is still Bruce/Hulk and not Professor Hulk (i.e. the Hulk we see in Endgame).

Trigger warnings for this chapter:

Mentions/non graphic descriptions of rape

Mentions of victim blaming

Maureen sits back on her heels. She's used a pile of blankets to create a makeshift yoga mat on her floor in an attempt to find some peace and keep in shape. Sleep is fruitless at this point, but there are still at least two hours until anyone else will be up. She knows from only the last couple of weeks that Steve or Bucky will be up with the sun. Steve claimed it's an old habit from his time in the military. Bucky just shrugged and muttered something about actually getting some peace in a building filled with such loud people.

Maureen has never been a morning person. She despises mornings, truthfully. Her mom used to say that because she was born at night, her body kept telling her that meant it was the beginning of the day. As far as she's concerned, it's the truth.

The thought of her mom makes her body sigh, melt further into the blanket mat in search of some sense of serenity.

After several flowing movements – downward dog to plank to cobra, back into downward and through to warrior and onward – she gives up on the final meditations and makes her way towards the massive kitchen. It hasn't been long since she's been able to eat with the others, and she's certain her anxiety is making it harder for the heroes to be comfortable.

She hadn't expected for any of this to happen. If you'd asked her four weeks ago if she was ever going to even meet the Avengers, let alone live with any of them, she would've rolled her eyes and let out a huff of laughter.

Bucky was up earlier than usual, standing next to the toaster with the overpowering silence that Maureen now knew was his norm.

"Morning." His nod was polite, though quick, as he pulled a Poptart from each of the two slots.

"Morning." Her voice was still one with which she was unfamiliar. Maureen was never one to speak softly, nor with so few words. But now it felt like her former boisterous personality was too much for her, so she became a seemingly observant, and practically silent person.

After a small breakfast of scrambled eggs, Maureen found herself wandering towards the training room where Tony had taken her a week ago to see a demonstration of everything she could do.

It was there that she lost herself, conjuring fireball after fireball, aiming at the fireproofed dummies, enveloping herself in a bubble made of flames, and, best of all, using the energy from her fire to lift herself into the air, hover, and casually drift back to the floor.

She was so caught up, listlessly floating a couple of feet above the padded floor, that she didn't notice the thin young man who was standing in the now-open doorway until she turned to shoot off a fireball at one of the dummies that was set to move back and forth across the room.

"Oh, shit." Maureen lost her focus and dropped a full foot and a half before catching herself just shy of the floor. The fireball missed the dummy by a good couple of feet, instead leaving a slight charred mark on the wall behind it.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to scare you! I just heard this sort of hum coming from in here, and well…I got curious." Peter stumbled apologetically. "I didn't mean to scare you."

Maureen shrugged. "No big deal. Less scare really, just… surprise." She settled herself back on the ground. "But how on earth did you hear the hum? I barely do and I'm creating it."

"Enhanced hearing. Sometimes it's a blessing. But when you're sharing a hotel room with Steve, who snores like crazy, it's a curse." He paused. "Um, please don't tell Steve I told you that by the way."

A chuckle bubbled out of Maureen's mouth before she could stop it. "I promise I won't say anything."

He smiled at her chuckle. "Thanks. So… is the hum caused by the energy? It didn't sound like normal fire crackling or anything."

"From what I can tell, yes. I honestly am not really certain why or how my powers work. I just know that they do."

Peter crossed further into the room, examining the dummy she had hit the most. Despite the fireproofing, it had taken quite a bit of damage. "So you can fly and shoot fireballs?"

"I wouldn't really say fly, exactly. More like levitate. I can just levitate pretty high up. I think at my highest I've been up about three stories before I chickened out and came back down."

Maureen boosted herself into the air for a demonstration and pushed herself to the ceiling. "Like, this is pretty easy, and I could stay up here for at least an hour or so before I really got tired."

"That's pretty awesome. I'm kind of jealous, to be honest."

"So… am I allowed to know if you have any powers?"

Peter hesitated. They still didn't know much about her, and as far as anyone else outside of the bunker was concerned, he was just Tony's ward.

Maureen interrupted his contemplation. "It's fine if you can't say anything. I understand you all still have no reason to trust me."

"But I also have no reason to _not _trust you." Peter grinned. His smile faded as he realized she wasn't returning the grin. "If you don't mind me asking… what happened that set you off so badly?"

Now it was Maureen's turn to hesitate. "I… let's just say I was protecting myself. My emotions got the best of me and I couldn't control my powers. It's never happened before, so I don't really understand if I could do it again or ever really control something so massive."

"Were you born with your powers? Did you develop them later?"

"Were you born with the habit of asking strangers personal questions?" Maureen smirked down at him from where she still hovered next to a steel beam.

"Oh, sorry. I.. uh, sometimes I get over excited and I start to just sort of ramble on about stuff. Tony used to hate it, but I think now he secretly likes it. But I know he'll never admit it." Peter hopped into the large windowsill and leaned against the wall parallel to the glass.

"But to answer your question, no I was not born with them. There was a fire when I was a kid. I came out of the fire with my powers."

"Wow. You survived the fire _and_ developed powers? How old were you?"

"Seven. The powers didn't really start until a few months later, and back then it was just little stuff, like a spark here or there. I didn't realize I could levitate until a couple of years ago." She lessened the energy flow to allow herself to float closer to Peter. If she wanted to levitate too much longer she was going to need to go get more than just a couple of eggs to increase her energy.

Peter nodded. "Yeah it took me a while to-" He cut himself off, realizing he was about to talk about how some of his powers had developed after the bite. "Ya know, get to understand more accelerated concepts. Like I imagine the levitation is more accelerated to understand than like, throwing a fireball. Sort of like anime characters getting new powers as the series goes on."

Maureen smiled and didn't probe at his slip up. She'd already figured he was likely Spider-man, but respected that they didn't want her to know all of the secret identities yet.

"So," she said. "You like anime?"

Bruce and Tony called her down to a basement facility after lunch. She figured any facility located in the basement of a massive compound probably spelled bad news, but she didn't really have much room to refuse. They'd taken her in, fed her, and were making attempts to trust that she was good. Or at least, she hoped they were making attempts.

"We want to see if you can replicate the explosion from that day." Bruce's voice was calm, and it made Maureen wonder how this man was the Hulk.

"I…" Maureen swallowed the bile rising up her throat. "I don't know if I can do that."

"It's fine if you can't. Just want to see how close you can get." Bruce smiled kindly, but it didn't quite help to calm Maureen's breathing, or the erratic heartbeat that was thudding in her chest.

"But…how will I keep from burning down the compound?"

Tony gestured to what appeared to be a glass enclosure. "Fireproof and explosion proof."

She looked between Tony and the enclosure, contemplating whether they would kick her out if she refused. "Um, okay."

Bruce disappeared behind a desk covered in laptops and electrical equipment while Tony led her into the enclosure. The door swung closed behind her with a quiet hiss of air as it sealed shut. She could see Tony latching the door from the outside, causing her heart to thud even harder.

A speaker crackled on above her. Bruce sounded far away, "Okay, now try to see if you can tap into whatever it was that you did just before… ya know? Was there a certain energy or feeling that you think may have done it?"

Maureen shrugged, in part because she wasn't sure they could hear her, and in part because she wasn't sure she really had an answer.

"Well, try to picture what was going on if you can… how you felt? Can you recreate it?"

Her breath hitched in her throat. She didn't want to recreate it. But how could she explain that to Bruce and Tony? They'd been so nice to her.

Eyes closed, she pictured the inside of the barn of the inn where she worked… _had_ worked… to save up for college. The horses had been let out to pasture, and she had just organized the tack room, which had been left a mess after a local company's 'bonding weekend' on the inn's property. Ezra was there suddenly, his leering gaze appearing from nowhere. She felt the surprise from his approach.

"_I hear you've been seeing that girl from that heathen store." _

_ "Just because the bookstore sells books that talk about religions other than Christianity does not mean that it's a 'heathen store.'" _

The annoyance she'd felt in the moment flooded back into her. As the adult son of the owner, Ezra was rarely on the grounds, but when he was he just ended up being a thorn in her side. Maureen enjoyed how much the owner, Anna, teased Ezra. She often rolled her eyes at him and confided in Maureen that she was ashamed by who he'd become.

"_So you don't deny your sinful lust?" _

_ "The only thing that's sinful is that it took me this long to ask her out." Maureen was trying to remember what she was about to do. She just wanted away from Ezra and his archaic beliefs._

_ "You need to be purified of your sin, little girl." _

Shaking too badly to stand, Maureen sunk to her knees in the enclosure. The image of Ezra leaning over her. Grabbing her wrist. Pulling at her clothes. His hands. It was too much.

Bruce glanced over at Tony. "Her heartrate is skyrocketing."

"Just give it another minute…"

"Tony, _look_ at her."

Tears streamed down her cheeks, colliding with one another and leaping from her chin. Maureen fell from her knees and tucked into a tight ball, hugging her knees tightly to her chest. Her breaths lurched in her lungs, struggling to find a rhythm.

The air sparked around her, and tiny flames spouted off her body like fireworks careening through the night air.

"_Tony._"

Tony took in the state of the girl in front of them. Maureen rocked back and forth, pleading and clawing at the air in front of her while she sobbed.

"Okay, let's end it."

Bruce flipped a switch to unseal the room while Tony hurried to the door to unlock it.

Heat blasted at Tony as he tugged the door open.

"Bruce, I can't get close enough to snap her out of it!"

Maureen could hear yelling in the back of her mind, but it was flooded over by Ezra's words. His hands.

The twangy harshness of Ezra's voice was suddenly interrupted by… Will Smith?

Maureen blinked several times, realizing where she was. Her heart was still pounding, and her breathing still erratic, but she remembered now. She was doing an experiment. She was in the compound. And… Will Smith was singing "Summertime" on the loudspeaker?

Tony took the opportunity to rush in to the cooling enclosure.

"Hey, kid, you're alright. You're in New York, in the compound. I'm Tony. Bruce is the currently-not-green one over there just outside the tank. No one is going to hurt you."

Gasping breaths.

"Do you want me to hug you or touch you? Will that help?"

An emphatic headshake.

"Okay, that's good to know. Then instead I'm going to do some deep breathing. I want you to match your breathing to mine."

Tony exaggerated the sound of his breathing so she could hear him clearly. Bruce appeared at his side and began counting breaths.

"One." He drew the word out to match the pace of Tony's breathing. "Two."

She placed her hand on her chest and tried to count to match Bruce. With a great deal of effort, her breathing finally normalized, though her tears streamed as fast as ever.

"Maureen?" Bruce held a hand out to where she remained crouched on the floor.

A hesitant glance met his eyes, and then his hand. With a shove, Maureen was off the floor without the help of either of the two men.

"Sorry," she muttered.

Bruce wasn't quite sure if she meant for not accepting his offer of help, or for the breakdown in general. Regardless, he had the same answer. "It's okay."

They were back in the Med Bay, where Maureen was wondering how quickly it would be before they dumped her off on Fury and sent her packing.

"Are you hurt anywhere?" Bruce asked as she climbed back on to the now-familiar exam table.

She shook her head in response, not trusting herself to speak for fear of crying again.

"Okay, I just want to take your blood pressure." He reached up to wrap a cuff around her arm.

"No! Don't touch me!" She jerked backwards with such force that Tony had to catch her to keep her from falling off the exam table. Tony's hands on her back sent her leaping forwards off the table.

She stood in the center of the room, her breathing ragged, and tears slipping down her face again.

"Okay, no touching. Got it." Tony shared a look with Bruce, who nodded.

"Maureen…I know you didn't tell any of the police or SHIELD agents much about what exactly happened. All they could tell us was that you felt surprised? But… was that the truth?"

Bruce really did have a way of making her feel safe. She wasn't quite sure if it was that his voice was always so calm, or if she felt like they were very similar. Lately, Maureen had also begin feeling like she was two different people with wildly different personalities.

"I mean… kind of?" How much could she really tell them? No one had ever believed her when it came to Ezra.

_"Maureen, I get that you don't like him, but don't be dramatic. He's just eccentric." _

Her grandmother had never believed her. It probably didn't help that her grandmother shared many of Ezra's beliefs.

"Maureen?" Tony's voice was more hesitant and calmer than she'd heard it before. Usually his voice took on a vaguely sarcastic, often cocky tone.

"I swear I didn't mean to hurt him."

Bruce and Tony shared another glance.

"Do you want to sit down?" Bruce offered her the chair that normally sat next to the exam table.

She shook her head. "No."

When neither man spoke again, she continued. "I wasn't trying to hurt him. Really. He just… I'd been _so good_ at holding it in. My powers, I mean. And my anger. And before it had just been little stuff, ya know? Nothing like… _that bad_. I'd always heard stories of really awful things that had happened to other girls, other women. So it never seemed like I could complain to anyone about Ezra. And Gran said I was being dramatic? I guess I figured it was like… a rite of passage?"

Bruce still look a bit confused, but it was clear that Tony understood. She could almost see the waves of ire radiating from his body.

"That was the first day that…" She hesitated, tears pooling in her eyes as she tried to blink them back. A part of her was sick of crying. She didn't want to cry over what Ezra had done to her anymore. "He said I was sinful for dating a girl. Said I needed to be purified. Because apparently you can rape the sin out of someone, right?"

Bruce's eyes grew wide as it clicked. Tony's eyes closed for a moment as his body seemed to tense, his hands clenching for a moment at his sides. Tony could only picture Morgan and how incensed he would be if anyone touched his daughter.

"I just lost it." Maureen sighed, her body sagging as the anger drained out of her and filled instead with the sadness and regret she'd felt since that moment. Regret for letting him near her. Regret for waiting until he'd finished. Regret for taking a man's life. She could only be thankful that the barn was on the edge of the property. That no other human or animal had been endangered by her lack of control.

"Given the circumstances, I don't think anyone would blame you, kid." Tony's voice was pure venom.

"But I killed him! Gran wouldn't even _look _at me." The expression on Gran's face had been at the forefront of her mind since she'd been taken home by the police. The horror, and the shock that her granddaughter, the one she'd raised since the fire, had killed someone. It had been only moments between the revelation and her Gran's order that she take her things and leave for good. Two suitcases and a trash bag. She'd had thirty minutes. How do you decide what to take in thirty minutes that will fit into two suitcases and a trash bag?

And now she was going to have to pack up again. At least this time she didn't have to decide what to bring. She just had to shove her belongings back in to the suitcases. She would need a new trash bag though… she'd thrown the old out. That had been a stupid move.

"How long do I have to pack?" She sighed.

Now it was Tony's turn to look confused. "For what? We're not going anywhere."

"You're…not telling Fury to pick me up?" Maureen's eyes flicked back and forth between the two men.

"Because you were _assaulted_? If anyone ever asks you to leave because you were assaulted, you don't need them. Because they're trash." Tony had started almost at a yell, but then forced himself to get quieter after seeing the expression on Bruce's face, and the slight shake of the head that Bruce had given him.

"But… my Gran…" She drifted off. Maureen had tried to explain. Had pulled Gran aside and confided in her what Ezra had done.

"_You could've run away, Maureen. You could've smacked him and run away. There was no need to kill him. Did you do anything to provoke him? What could _you_ have done differently that could've saved a man's life?" _

The two men seemed to be waiting for her to finish her sentence. Instead, she just shook her head.

"Well, as far as I'm concerned, you're here to stay." Tony somehow seemed both angry and concerned all in one sentence.

If she weren't still struggling to keep breathing properly, Maureen would've marveled at it.

"We'll start your training tomorrow. You'll start with some absolute basics – hand to hand combat with Nat. In the meantime, you'll have therapy with our resident therapist."

Maureen stuttered, 'Th-therapy? But I-"

"Maureen, I get it. You don't want to talk about it. But you need to. I see her regularly. A lot of the team does, actually. It's something we have to do as superheroes, because we see a lot of shit that the rest of the population doesn't see. And it's important that you work on your emotions, because it's clear your powers are tied into your emotions. Once we get the okay from Dr. Calhoun, you'll start training with Bruce on utilizing your emotions for stronger attacks." Tony nodded towards the quiet man next to her.

Panic had settled into Maureen's chest, but she knew she had to tap it down. Tony just meant well, right?

"Are you okay to head upstairs, or do you want to stay down here for a while?" Bruce asked.

"I – is it okay if I go to the training room?"

Tony nodded. "Sure, no problem."

"Are you sure you're up for it?" Bruce added.

Maureen desperately needed to fire off some of the energy that had built up in the enclosure. And she needed to get rid of the panic that was quickly setting up residence in her mind. "Yeah, I'm okay."

At least… she _would_ be. She _had_ to be. Otherwise… how soon would Tony change his mind once they realized she was no good as a superhero? She needed to start her own training now. To prove she could do it, and that she deserved to be one of the team.


	3. Chapter 3

Trigger warnings:

Non-graphic descriptions/memories of rape

Implied attempted rape of side character

Weight related self deprecating thoughts

Not gonna lie; a lot of this chapter is fluff and character building until towards the end, though there is some important exposition here too. 😊

Peter swooped between the buildings towards Stark Tower. Most nights he crashed there after patrol instead of driving back to the compound, but he found himself suddenly itching to go back.

It had been an easy night. A few muggings, one lost dog, and a couple of tourists who didn't understand the Subway system. Tony made fun of him, but those were some of his favorites. He liked being recognized by tourists, especially international tourists who spoke his name in excited, broken English. They made him feel like the world was still filled with good things, where he helped make people feel welcomed and safe when they visited New York, which could be such an unfamiliar and massive labyrinth.

With a flourish and a flip, Peter landed on the private entryway that Tony had set up for him shortly after Thanos' defeat. To anyone else it would appear to be the tiniest of balconies – an angled iron bar that wouldn't allow for a person over the age of 1 to stand upright in the miniscule landing outside of the window. But Peter had exactly what was needed to open the balcony up further – a combination to enter into a panel that slid open upon the pressing of a button.

Peter crouched on the iron bar for a moment, breathing in the night air. Since Thanos, the New York air had smelled cleaner, probably in part because of the smaller population that had lived there for five years, and also in part because politicians had suddenly started passing stricter environmental laws. It was as if the time people spent either gone, or living without loved ones, had given everyone perspective and people were making better choices. He considered the muggings he'd stopped earlier. Well, some people were making better choices, anyway.

He tapped the button and keyed in the code. One of the windows swung open and he jumped through nimbly. It was already almost midnight, which was honestly earlier than when he usually finished his patrolling, but he still felt drawn to return to the compound.

With a few quick movements, he was out of his suit and back into his street clothes. Peter double checked his backpack for the few things he took between the two homes, like his laptop and a pair of Spider-man slippers that Tony had bought him as a joke, but which he actually really loved. Backpack in hand, Peter slipped behind the wheel of the Hyundai Tony had bought for him ("it's practical _and_ safe!") and started the drive home.

The compound was almost silent when he arrived shortly before three. Peter had nodded off here and there in the last hour of the drive, but that was okay since Tony had put made some changes and added in a self-drive feature. He'd let the car take over driving a little more than half way back to the compound.

Rummaging through the fridge for a late night (really early morning?) snack, he paused when he heard movement on the stairs. A slice of cold pizza in hand, Peter shuffled down the hall towards the stairwell.

The door swung open as he neared, and Maureen stepped out from the landing.

Maureen swore, grabbing her chest in shock. "Do you purposely sneak up on people?"

Peter chuckled, "Sorry. I just move quietly, I guess."

Maureen hummed in acknowledgment. "I guess being Spider-man makes a person light on their feet."

"Wh-what? Who-who said I was Spider-man?" He coughed down the bite of pizza he had just taken.

"Relax. No one told. It's just not that hard to piece together. You live here, and while I know you're Tony's adopted son, I doubt you'd know him if it hadn't been for some superhero thing. You walk with a lot of grace like Spider-man does. And also I heard you talking to Tony about a new web shooter." Maureen grinned as Peter let out an exasperated sigh.

"Damn, I could've sworn I'd made sure everyone nearby was cleared for that information." He bit into the pizza thoughtfully. "Oh well. How come you're up so late?"

Maureen's grin faded. "Just… couldn't sleep. And I've always been more of a night owl anyway, so really I'm only a few hours past my normal bedtime."

The look of sadness that reflected in her eyes suddenly made Peter's heart heavy.

"I get that. I'm from Queens, so I think I got used to being up late early on. It's like if you live in New York City long enough, you sort of take on its habits. You're from Virginia, right?"

Maureen nodded. "Yeah, my Gran lived in what I liked to call Bumfucksville. But before I moved in with her, I lived in Richmond. It's a cute city. Lots of history, and pretty diverse cultures. Something for everyone – great food, cool museums. My mom actually used to do burlesque and fire performances before I came around. Every once in a while she would still pull out her fire gear and perform for local events. I miss it a lot."

"Your mom was a fire performer? That's so cool! And it's really kind of weird that you ended up getting the ability to manipulate and create fire." Peter tossed the last of the pizza crust into his mouth, and found he was still hungry. "Do you want some pizza? I think they ordered too much last night. They always do when they forget I'm on patrol and not here." He laughed and headed back towards the kitchen.

Maureen trailed him, glancing down at herself. She probably shouldn't eat so late. Gran had always fussed about her weight, and Maureen sort of had to agree with her. She definitely wasn't the pretty, thin girl that people expected of a superhero.

Peter tossed a couple of slices on a plate to re-heat. "How many do you want?"

"I'm good. I'll just have some water." She was already reaching for the glasses from the cabinet.

"You sure? This is pretty amazing pizza. It's Little Al's Pizza from down the road." Peter tilted the box so she could see the logo on top.

"I had a lot at dinner." Maureen shrugged, attempting to ignore the heavenly smell that came from the box. Truthfully, she'd had two slices at dinner, and had struggled not to have more than just that.

Peter nodded, tossed the box back into the fridge, and put his plate in the microwave.

While they waited for the pizza to reheat, Peter brought up the topic of her parents again. "So… do you care if I ask about your mom?"

Maureen hesitated. "What about her?"

"Well, you said you moved in with your Gran…" Peter's voice trailed off, as he tried to figure out a good way to ask: 'is your mom dead?'

"I moved in with Gran when my mom died. I was seven."

The pieces glided into place for Peter. "When you were… oh. The fire."

The microwave beeped, jarring him from the heaviness he felt suddenly. He kept his eyes on Maureen as he took out his late night snack.

Maureen gave a quick nod. "I wanted to be like her. A fire performer. So I needed to practice, and… well, you can sort of guess the rest." How many times had she told this story? When would she be able to get through it without choking up?

Peter was silent. He wanted to say something comforting but didn't know how to go about it without coming across as pitying.

"My parents died in a plane crash when I was a kid, and my aunt, who basically became my mom, died of cancer a little over a year ago." He paused. "I… I wanted to say something to show that I get what you're feeling without making it sound like I pity you, but now I feel like an ass for saying something that makes it sound like I'm trying to one up you and… I'm sorry. I suck at this."

Maureen cracked a smile. "It's okay. I appreciate the lack of pity. It does get old."

"Um, what about your dad?" Peter hurried to continue, "That is… if you don't mind me asking. See I am really bad at… well, socializing, I guess."

"I don't know my dad. I couldn't even tell you his name, actually. All I know is the little my mom told me, which wasn't much. They fell madly in love, ran away together, and then he vanished. Mom always said I was the only good thing that came of that relationship."

"Did you ever hope that you'd figure out who he was?" Peter hopped up on the counter as he bit into the now-cooling food.

"No. I don't really care, to be honest." Maureen paused. Why _was_ she being so honest? She and Peter had only talked at length that one day, and then it was mostly superficial conversations: favorite books, TV shows, hobbies… Why was she telling him her life story all of a sudden?

"You never hoped your dad was like, secretly one of the Avengers?"

She snorted. "I know my dad isn't an Avenger. One, I don't look anything like any of them. Two, my dad was not skilled enough to do any of what the Avengers do. He was a jazz musician. Not a doctor, or a genius, or anything."

Peter polished off the first slice, and moved to the second. "I always kind of wished my parents were like, secret agents or something, ya know? Even if I barely knew them, it would be cool to have some sort of legacy."

"I don't know. I guess it was never something I cared much about. I just want to go back to the way things were. My mom and me. She always listened to me. Never rolled her eyes or said that I was being silly or dramatic." Maureen leaned against the counter, her elbows propped up behind her.

"You don't like your powers?"

"I mean, I do… I guess I'd just give them up if it meant I had my mom back."

The pair was silent, both contemplating what they would do if they had the option of having their families back. Around them, the compound slept, the only other sounds the steady swishing of the dishwasher, and the barely-there hiss of the air conditioner. Even Tony was asleep, exhausted from a day at an amusement park with Pepper and Morgan.

"I should probably go to bed. I have training with Natasha tomorrow."

"Hand to hand combat?"

She nodded.

"Good luck." Peter swallowed the last of his pizza and set the plate in the sink.

"That sounds promising."

"Well, it is Nat after all. But it's okay… she might go easy on you your first day."

"If this is Nat going easy on me, I don't wanna know what next week is gonna look like," Maureen muttered to herself as she struggled to kick as high as Nat wanted.

"Hmm?"

"Oh, nothing. Just…thinking out loud." Maureen tried to smile but ended up just grimacing.

"Your center of gravity is off. If you find that, you'll be able to kick high enough that you can hit anyone in the face."

Maureen readjusted her position. "Oh. Well… okay." She focused on her core and balanced out, shifting her weight. With an easy fluidity, Maureen kicked the bean bag off the top of the target.

Natasha nodded. "Better."

Maureen smiled widely. "I do yoga, so center of gravity. That, I get."

"Good. Now again."

If she wasn't ripped at the end of this, she was gonna be pissed.

Tony squinted at the formula in front of him and adjusted a few numbers. He squinted again, erased the numbers, and changed them back to what he had written before.

"Hey, Tony. How's it going?"

"Kid. I didn't think you'd already be back. It's only, what… nine?"

"It's eleven, actually, but yeah I decided to come back last night after patrolling was done."

"Any reason?" Tony moved a decimal point, then moved it back.

Peter shrugged. "Dunno. Just felt like it, I guess. Sometimes… well, the tower gets kinda… I don't know… lonely."

Tony peered up at and away from his work. "You doing okay, Underoos?"

He smiled at his old nickname. Tony used it less these days, but still pulled it out here and there. "Yeah… it's just. You know. I still can't believe it's been over a year."

The anniversary of May's death had been in April, three months prior. Peter was still unsure how he'd gotten through his senior year without her. He only regretted that she hadn't seen him walk at graduation, though all of the Avengers team had come instead, sitting in the football stands at Midtown, cheering louder than almost anyone.

"I feel you, Spiderling. It is weird without her."

"You mean it's weird that May trusted you enough to leave you as my guardian in her will."

"Yes, that is also weird. I still don't know what that woman was thinking."

Peter rolled his eyes. He knew by now that while Tony didn't trust in his own parenting skills, he was one of the best dads he could've asked for. And Pepper had confided in him before that Tony had been over the moon when May had asked him if he would be Peter's guardian once she knew she was dying.

"So what's up?" Tony sat back in his chair and smirked at Peter.

"What do you mean, what's up?" Peter crossed his arms.

"It's eleven AM on a Saturday-"

"Sunday," Peter interrupted.

Tony kept talking, "And you're down here in the lab and not upstairs doing… I don't know, one of those Lego games you love so much."

"I have been known to come to the lab on the weekend, ya know. Stranger things have happened."

Tony just stared, waiting.

Peter huffed. "Fine. What else do you know about Maureen?"

"Ha! There it is!" Tony smacked his hands down on his thighs.

"There is what?" He sighed.

"It was only a matter of time before you started… what do you kids call it these days? Catching the feels?"

"That's not… where did you even hear… I don't have a thing for her!" Peter stammered.

Tony snorted.

"No, seriously. I just… she's just a lot like me. Like… she's been through a lot of stuff. I wanted to know what the plan was."

"The plan?" Tony raised an eyebrow at his adopted son.

"Is she… ya' know… gonna become an Avenger?"

"I don't have an answer to that yet, Pete. First of all, she may not want to stay here. She turned 18 in May, and from what she told me, she was accepted into her college of choice back in Virginia. She might want to go live her life and be a normal teen."

So she was a few months older than him. Peter paused to consider. "Did she say she's definitely still going?"

Tony shrugged. "She's training right now, but Peter, you're still planning on going to MIT. It wouldn't be fair to ask her to drop her life to become some superhero without any plans for the future."

A sigh escaped, deflating a hope he hadn't known existed. It was nice having someone around his age at the compound. Sure, Morgan was fun to hang out with, but she was just a kid, his baby sister.

"You good, kid?"

Peter nodded, resigned. "Yeah. I guess… it was just cool thinking there'd be another Avenger around my age."

Tony gave him a half smile. "There's nothing that says she wouldn't come back here during the summer, that is… if she had a legitimate reason to, anyway." His smile turned to a smirk.

"Why you gotta always take it too far, man?"

"What? Who took it too far? I didn't imply anything…"

"Uh huh. Sure you didn't. For that, I'm gonna leave you to figure out which number is wrong in that formula."

Peter chuckled to himself as Tony muttered about ungrateful teenagers, knowing full well that Peter could hear him as he left the lab.

Now that he had mentioned it, he still hadn't beat that one level on the Lego Harry Potter game…

Maureen shuffled out of her room following a long, hot shower. Every muscle, every sinew in her body ached. She suddenly was aware of muscles and nerves she'd never known existed.

She considered Nat's parting words. "See you at 9 AM sharp. Rest up. Your body is going to need it."

_Rest up!_ How on earth could she do that when pain radiated through every fiber of her being?

Stretching her back, Maureen continued down the hall from the room Tony had said could be hers. Though she considered it less "room" and more "fancy hotel suite" given the size and structure. Not only did it have a bedroom as large as half of the downstairs of her Gran's house, but it also had a TV area the size of Gran's kitchen.

She paused as she passed by Peter's room. There was a sound she recognized, but couldn't quite place…

Hesitating for just a moment, Maureen knocked on his door.

"Come in!"

With a light shove of the door, she limped into his room.

"Oh, hey! What's up?" Peter was hunched on his couch, Playstation controller in hand.

"Lego Harry Potter! That's what I heard. The Lego coins."

"Yeah, I love these games." Peter sent Hermione to smash into several bushes on the edge of the courtyard. "Grab a controller." He gestured towards a woven basket next to the TV.

Maureen found three other controllers. She grabbed the one resting on top and clicked it on.

"Great, I'm finishing up the storyline for the third book. Lupin just transformed and ran off into the woods." Peter took over Ron so he could turn into it Scabbers and release some needed Lego pieces.

Maureen chose Hermione and smashed a few other plants for the coins. "Have you played the Lego Avengers game?"

"I own it, actually." Peter glanced over at a cabinet Maureen assumed was filled with video games.

"What's it like playing yourself in a Lego game? And how can they do that without licensing issues? Did they just make up random storylines for you all to follow?"

Peter laughed. "So as far as licensing goes, Tony managed to get royalties for us. The too-long-didn't-read version is that his lawyers worked it out so that those of us who still have a secret identity get paid through him. All of my money goes into a trust for after college. He just lets me have a small cut as an allowance. Same with action figures and merchandise. It is pretty mindblowing to be Spider-man in a Lego game. And I don't actually know how they make up the storylines. I know Tony made it so they can't do like a thing where you have to beat Thanos or any of the actual criminals we've dealt with – that would just be weird. I think it's just stuff they could see us doing that they've created in their heads."

Maureen nodded, taking control of Harry as they neared the third book's final fights. "Do the others ever play?"

"Sam and Bucky do definitely. I've gotten Nat, Bruce, Steve, and Tony to play a few times. Most of the time they all just play as each other so they can do stupid things. Sam has this whole song he makes Iron Man sing about being made of Iron and the stupidity of lasers."

Maureen's laugh made Peter smile. He hadn't yet heard her laugh so freely or loudly. It had been all chuckles or bitter laughter.

"We should definitely get them to play tonight. I really wanna see that."

Peter nodded, the smile lingering, "I will absolutely make sure that happens."

Maureen's leg bounced seemingly of its own accord. The room was well furnished and neat. Dr. Calhoun exuded professionalism, and somehow made Maureen feel calmer.

But given that she walked in a disaster, that wasn't saying a lot.

They'd gone through the generic introductions. Where Maureen was from. Her mom's death. Her lack of knowledge about her father. It was what was next that she was dreading.

"So, Maureen. What are your goals for our time together?" Her voice was silken, and therapeutic, but Maureen's heartrate spiked regardless.

"Um. Mr. St—um, Tony, he wanted to me see you to work on my emotions. I need to steady them because of my powers."

Tony had reassured her that Dr. Calhoun knew about each of their secret identities, and not only was sworn to not reveal anything because of her oath as a psychologist, but she also couldn't say anything because she had signed an NDA.

Dr. Calhoun nodded. "Why do you think your emotions need steadying?"

"Less think. More know, actually. I tried to recreate the explosion for Tony and Bruce but had a panic attack. I think Tony's afraid of me having a panic attack in the field."

"And what do you think?" She scrawled a few words on the notepad in her lap.

"I…don't think he's wrong." Her knee jiggled up and down, the nervous energy becoming too much.

"What caused the panic attack?" The doctor's voice is quieter.

Maureen swallowed, steadying her quivering chin. "Memories."

"Memories of the night of the explosion?"

Maureen nodded, blinking back the tears that prickled her eyes. She turned her eyes down to the table in front of her and studied it in depth. A tissue box enveloped in a decorative cover. A small inspirational plaque in stylistic cursive: _It's okay to not be okay_. The table was glass, with golden metal that wrapped perfectly around each curved edge. Maureen's eyes followed the metal, as if tracing a pattern.

"Would you like to talk about that night?"

She'd known it was coming. It was why she had so much nervous energy. So much dread.

"Not really…"

"You sound unsure."

There was a sigh in her next words. "I just know that I _need_ to talk about it. At least at some point."

"It doesn't have to be right now. We could talk about identifying triggers. Or techniques to help you cope with triggers."

There was a pause. The ticking of the clock above Dr. Calhoun's desk echoed in Maureen's head as she contemplated her options.

"Yeah. Let's do that one. The coping thing."

Dr. Calhoun smiled patiently. "Alright. So what sorts of things do you do now?"

"Um… nothing, really. That's likely the problem."

Her answer got her a chuckle in return.

"Well, that's an easy fix." Dr. Calhoun scribbled some more notes. "Let's start with some grounding techniques."

It had been four days. Four days of relentless training with Nat, and four days of therapy sessions with Dr. Calhoun. Maureen still hadn't gone into detail about the rape but had at least told Dr. Calhoun that it had happened. It was at least something, as far as Maureen was concerned.

Peter and Maureen were hanging out more, especially given they were the only two teenagers in the entire compound.

It was early Friday morning when Peter suggested for the first time that they go into the city.

"What? The city? What do you want to do there?" Maureen hesitated at the thought of all the crowds that would be there.

"We can get some of the best food in the states, we can visit my favorite comic book shop, we could go see something on Broadway, if you like. I have enough from my monthly merchandise allowance." Peter was tinkering with one of his web shooters that had been having some issues sending the right amount of web. "I do really need to patrol, so we could just stay at Stark Tower afterward. There are plenty of empty rooms you could sleep in near my usual one."

Maureen considered. "Broadway, huh? I have always wanted to see a Broadway show. But isn't that crazy expensive? I couldn't ask you to pay for me."

Peter waved his hand nonchalantly to dismiss her concern. "Trust me, I have more than enough to spare. Tony's royalty negotiations have me sitting pretty. Plus I get my next payout in like a week."

"I…" She sighed. If she was going to get out into the world and start living again, what better way than to go to the theater? "Sure. Let's go. Um… do I need to ask Tony for permission?"

Peter shrugged. "I doubt he'll really care, but we should still tell him we're going. He's probably in the lab right now."

The two rode the elevator down discussing what they could get for lunch, which would be right around their arrival time.

"Tooooony!" Peter sang his name out onto the lab floor.

There was an annoyed groan from the right.

"Ah, he's over here."

Maureen followed Peter through the labyrinth of computers and machinery. He wove in and out of technology she'd never have been able to imagine.

"Yes, Underoos?" Tony smirked up at the pair from where he knelt in front of one of his suits.

"Underoos?" Maureen raised an eyebrow at her friend.

"It-it's a long story." Peter glared down at Tony who chuckled in return. "Wait, why are you working on the suit? Are you coming out of retirement?"

The older man shrugged. "No, not really. But it's useful to train in it and maintain it just in case." He pushed himself up off the floor and tossed a couple of tools onto the workbench next to him. "So what's up?"

"Oh, we wanted to go into the city for the day. Get some good food, maybe catch a show." Peter gestured behind him, as if gesturing in the direction of New York City.

"Sounds fun. Are you staying at the tower then tonight?" Tony drifted over to a nearby table and started typing in a few notes.

"Yeah. I'm gonna patrol later tonight." Peter cocked his head at the notes on the screen and started to say something but decided not to at the last second. No reason to point out something as silly as a grammatical error. It would just annoy his adoptive dad.

"Maureen, you're not patrolling with him, right?" Tony swiveled around to eye her.

"Oh, definitely not. I figured I'd go back to the tower and watch some movies or something." There was no way Maureen was ready to act like a superhero yet.

"She doesn't even have a costume yet! Or a cool superhero moniker like Flame." Peter considered. "Sparky? Eh, we'll work on it."

"Sparky? Really?" Maureen snorted.

"Alright. FRIDAY, run a scan on Peter's car." Tony noticed the grammatical error and went back to fix it.

"What? How come?" Peter looked concerned.

"Just been a while since I've done one. Wanna make sure nothing needs fixing."

FRIDAY responded to Tony, with that calm, non-quite-robotic voice that Maureen had come to love. "It's due for an oil change in 400 miles."

"Hm. We'll do that when you get back then. Okay, kiddies. Have fun. Be safe; make good choices."

"So you're saying don't do what you would do?" Maureen ventured. She had begun to get acclimated to the teasing atmosphere the team created around the compound, but she hadn't quite joined in yet.

Tony glanced up with surprise. "So she does have it in her. And yes, that's exactly what I mean."

Peter rolled his eyes. "See you later, Tony."

"Bye, Spiderling. Bye, Smartass."

Maureen smirked the whole way up the elevator.

The pair wandered around what felt like half of Manhattan and most of Queens. They ended up seeing Wicked, which Maureen had been dying to see for forever, the soundtrack one of her regular rotations on her phone's playlists. They enjoyed a pieced-together lunch of all kinds of street food – tacos, hot dogs, a shared falafel, and a dessert of Peter's favorite homemade ice cream. After some heavy comic book browsing, a stroll through Central Park, and a dinner of pizza (because why go to New York City and not eat pizza?) they made their way back towards Stark Tower.

"How long do you think you'll be out patrolling?" Maureen held her overly-stuffed stomach, regretting having eaten so much throughout the day. She couldn't just eat whatever she liked anymore. Not if she was going to take this superhero thing seriously. How many tweets and Instagram comments would focus on her weight once she started working with the Avengers? Or what if the Avengers didn't even want her to work with them because she was plus size? Who wants a size 14 lumbering behind everyone else or taking up all the space in photos?

"I usually patrol for a few hours. I'll probably finish up around two. You still gonna be up?" Peter was practically skipping he was so light on his feet. She'd never look like that.

"Maybe I usually keep late hours, but with Nat kicking my ass lately I've been crashing out around midnight." She glanced at her phone's time. It was just after nine and she was already feeling wiped out. How did superheroes have this kind of stamina? Peter didn't look at all tired.

"Yeah Nat does have that effect on peo-" Peter halted, his eyebrows furrowed.

"What's up?" Maureen glanced around but saw nothing.

"An attack in the next alley. Gimme a sec." Peter stepped behind a dumpster, and came out just moments later in full Spider-man gear.

"Where the hell did you have your suit?"

"Under my clothes. I left them webbed to the building behind the dumpter. Though I guess I could've given them to you. Oh well. I'll be right back to let you into the tower." Peter ran off towards the sounds of distress.

Maureen watched him longingly. Did she just stand here awkwardly? Maybe she could go help in some way… like as back up.

She half-jogged, half speed-walked after him.

There were three guys and one petite woman. Spider-man had webbed one of the guys to a wall already but was currently fighting the largest of the three. A smaller man still leered behind the woman, who he held in front of him, tears streaming down her face.

It was then Maureen noticed her state of dress. Her shirt had been ripped clean down the middle, and her pants were unbuttoned and unzipped. Spider-man had stopped a rape in progress.

The wind was knocked out of her for a moment. She tried to go back through Dr. Calhoun's suggestions for techniques to help her calm herself and prevent a panic attack. Counting her breaths, she quietly snuck around the other side of the building. Spider-man was struggling with the larger of the two, but the woman was still being held and Maureen wanted her free. When she was around the building and in view of the fight, she began to levitate so the man wouldn't hear her approach. Once close enough, she concentrated on his body so that she wouldn't accidentally hurt the woman he held in place.

There was a small hiss and a puff of smoke, and suddenly his pants were aflame.

"I'm on fire! What the fuck!?" He grip loosened at first, and then he let go of the woman altogether in order to smack at the fire on his jeans.

"Run!" Maureen yelled to the woman.

The woman, who had stood shocked at the scene, blinked up at Maureen for a second before pushing the still-on-fire man to the ground. She grabbed for her purse, which had been laying on the ground next to her, and ran towards Maureen.

"Thank you! And thank Spider-man for me too!" She only paused for a second, and then she was gone.

Spider-man finished with the larger man, webbing him up next to his first criminal. The third man, having just finished putting out the flames, received the same treatment several feet away.

"Karen, notify police of an attempted robbery and rape and where these three can be found. Please send the footage for evidence."

Maureen stared at the ground where her opponent was now thoroughly bound by Spider-man's webs. Spider-man was suddenly next to her.

"Hey, come on. We gotta go. Especially cuz you don't have a mask."

She snapped out of it and dashed into the next alley.

"That was pretty good! I probably won't mention it to Tony, since he'd freak, but it was quick thinking." His voice was slightly muffled through the mask, but Maureen could hear him smiling.

She would've smiled along with him, until it hit her what had just happened. That woman had almost been raped. But she wouldn't have been picked up by police, or a government agency afterward. She would've struggled to get home, in pain and panicked. She would've tried to go on with her life. Go to work. Hang out with friends. Maybe have to tell a boyfriend or girlfriend what had happened. Deal with the fear of being touched.

Or maybe they would've killed her. Her body could've been in that alley, left until the weekly garbage pick up took place.

Maureen's breathing fell apart. The counting, long ago put aside to deal with the would-be rapist, couldn't be picked back up. The numbers swam in front of her eyes but lacked rhythm.

"Maureen? Maureen, breathe. It's Peter." He started to touch her arm, but she flinched violently away from him. "Okay, okay. My hands are over here now. I need you to breathe. Your name is Maureen Morris. You're in New York City. You're really good with fire and you play a mean game of air hockey. You're safe."

Her eyes stared at him, wide and unblinking.

"'Reen. Come back to me." He pleaded in a whisper.

She blinked at him, and a tear spilled out onto her cheek.

"Hey. You alright?"

Maureen nodded for a second. She paused, and then changed to shake her head.

"Okay. Let's go on to the tower and get you settled." Peter moved to put his hand on her back, but hesitated. "Is it okay to touch you?"

She sighed. "Yeah, I'm good now."

His hand settled gently on her upper back, and wrapped lightly over her left shoulder. "Come on. Let's go home."

Author Note: Obviously it would be impossible for the Lego Avengers game to have the same plotline as it does in real life the games we play, but I think it would be hilarious for some version of the game to exist in the MCU just so that the team could play as each other and do stupid stuff. I could totally see Lego making a game up based on the "real life" superheroes so that the entire world could pretend they were also superheroes. But, of course, Tony would have his lawyers all over that stuff.


	4. Chapter 4

Trigger warnings:

Non-graphic discussions of rape

Self deprecating comments

A/N: I realized the symbols that separate out each scene don't show on , so I've used ~*~MARVEL~*~ to indicate the separations instead.

"You call me 'Reen."

She hadn't said anything the entire 6-block walk back to the tower. She finally spoke once they were up in the living room.

"Is…is that okay?" The mask was off, but Peter still wore the rest of his Spider-man gear.

"My mom called me Reen. Reen or Reeni." She stared out the floor to ceiling windows at the skyline that stretched forever in front of them. With a wistful smile, she glanced over at him. "It's fine. I've missed it."

Peter let out a sigh he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

"Do you want to talk about what happened in the alley?" He stood next to her, also staring at the skyline. No matter how long he spent either here in the tower, or swinging from rooftop to rooftop, he would never get over the awe of seeing the beauty of the buildings and the horizon of New York stretched out in front of him.

"Yes? No. I don't know." She sighed.

"I…I mean, I get it."

"You get the mysterious reason why I had a breakdown after saving a woman?" Maureen turned to him with an eyebrow raised.

"Well, not that. But like…that you want to talk about something, but then also don't want to. I get it," Peter said, eyes still pressed to the skyline. "We can just watch some movies, if you prefer."

"Don't you need to go back on patrol?" She gestured to the streets below.

"I don't really have to. Or I could just go out later." He turned from the window. "I'll get changed. My personal Blu Ray collection is by the TV."

"FRIDAY can't just stream whatever you want?" Maureen called, walking towards the entertainment center.

"I asked Tony to disable FRIDAY from the tower. It's kind of like a private retreat without the AI around. Nowadays it's basically my form of roughing it." Peter's voice is far away now, echoing down the hall by their rooms. Once upon a time the rooms had been miscellaneous spaces, a game room for poker tournaments, a trophy room for the philanthropy awards won by first Howard, and then Tony. There had even been a room that was just used for coats during parties. It was bigger than Peter's old room from the apartment.

Peter had explained to Maureen upon arriving earlier that day that he'd chosen these rooms, which were closest to the main living space, rather than the rooms on the other floors, because otherwise it felt as if the space would eat him whole. The switch from his small apartment with May to living with Tony had been abrupt. This made it feel more natural, a smaller space reminiscent of the two-bedroom apartment. Maureen had followed suit and chosen the former trophy room, which was immediately next to Peter's, the old coat closet.

Peter jogged back down the hall, now in plaid pajama pants and a black tee shirt. On his feet were Spider-man slippers.

"Are those… slipper versions of your head while in the mask?" Maureen gawked at his footwear.

"Tony gave them to me as a joke. But… I dunno. They're kind of fun."

Maureen laughed, and Peter found himself somewhat relieved that she seemed to have calmed down since their earlier run in.

"Pick a movie?"

"I picked out a few. I figured you could make the final choice." Maureen handed him a small stack. "I'm gonna go get changed."

Peter flipped through her chosen options: _The Producers, The Emperor's New Groove, Some Like It Hot, _and _Toy Story._ An interesting mix with lots of variety. He was impressed by her taste.

"So…what's the verdict?" Maureen had on her favorite Eeyore pajama pants, and an oversized tee shirt with the phrase _Espresso Yourself. _She'd pulled her long hair pulled back into a floppy bun. More of her red roots were showing now, creating a blunt contrast between the red and the black.

"_Some Like It Hot_. It's been a while since I've seen it. May introduced me to it years ago."

"My mom loved classic movies. We watched at least two a month when I was a kid, some from her childhood, or others she'd wanted to watch, but hadn't before. I tried to keep it up after she died." She settled onto the large couch and pulled a checkered throw pillow into her lap, hugging it comfortably.

"Sounds like something we need to do then. This can be the very first one. It never hurts to watch something you've already seen." Peter smiled kindly at her and she found herself smiling back. "Did you want any popcorn? I have this awesome popcorn maker."

Maureen considered for a moment; popcorn did sound good. But after all that other food they'd eaten today? She probably shouldn't. How horribly would she embarrass herself as the fat Avenger?

"No, I'm good. Thanks though."

Peter nodded and slid the movie into the player before plopping down next to Maureen.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

She was beginning to nod off, though they were just a little over halfway through the movie.

"Reeni? You wanna go to bed?"

"No, no, I'm good." She sat up a little straighter to wake herself up. It was too early for bed, especially when they were having such a good time. It had been a long while since she'd felt like she had a real friend. Most of the kids back in Gran's hometown had thought she was strange. Which was okay, because none of them could know she had powers. It was one thing her mom and Gran had agreed on: no one should know about her powers. So she avoided most of the other students, though it had been easy since few of them wanted much to do with her anyway.

"You know what always fascinated me about this movie?" She stifled a yawn. "This message about trying to be what you're not. Like, we get the idea that it's more trouble than it's worth, but it's for their safety, ya know? What else can they do? They have to hide who they are, or they could be in a lot of trouble."

Peter hummed his agreement. "Like being a superhero with a secret identity."

She nodded sleepily. "Or even just being…a person. How often do people hide themselves now because they're too afraid?"

He turned to consider the woman next to him. "Why are you afraid?"

But he knew it was a moot question. The steady breathing and easy rhythm of her heartbeat told him she was asleep.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

Peter crawled into his bed, thoroughly exhausted. He'd done a quick lap around the area as Spider-man, just long enough to make sure there wasn't anything serious going on. It was a fairly quiet night, a drunk girl had gotten separated from her friends, so he helped her find them and get on her way. After, he had helped change a flat tire, and then headed back to the tower.

Maureen was still sleeping, though now in her bed. She'd been sleeping so deeply, that he carried her back to the room and settled her under the covers. It wasn't until after he moved her that he realized she might not have wanted to be picked up. He'd made a note to apologize to her the next morning.

As he drifted off under the quilt that had resided on May's bed, Peter stirred at the sound of whimpering. It was soft, even to his ears, but it was clear that Maureen was having a nightmare. He blinked awake, still listening.

She was muttering, but it was difficult to tell what she was actually saying.

It wasn't until a moment later that Peter understood what she's saying. Understood why the almost-rape shook her so badly.

"Stop," she whimpered. "Don't touch me."

He understood.

Because he had said it too.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

It was a long time until Peter could sleep again. He waited until he heard Maureen calm down. Part of him desperately wanted to go wake her. To hug her and tell her it would get better. But the other part of him knew she probably didn't want him knowing at all. If she had wanted him to know, she would've told him earlier that evening. So instead he listened to the whimpers, the muttered pleading, the entreaties of mercy.

And then his mind thought of things long since packed away. Memories, feelings, tears since shoved to the back of his mind, hidden behind stacks of monotonous days and endless school lessons.

It had been two years. Two years with only fleeting thoughts, superficial flashes of a time when he'd hated himself. Hated what he had allowed to happen. May had been there two years ago when the memories had slammed into him upon receiving the news that his abuser was free, out early on good behavior. Who could he talk to now? Tony could never know. And Maureen obviously had her own to deal with. He couldn't put that on her.

Peter sighed.

He had a feeling he was going to need to stay at Stark Tower a little more for the next few nights. Until he could be certain that they were gone. That the memories weren't going to hover over his body like a cartoon raincloud.

He'd finally made it as an Avenger. And he would be damned if he was going to screw it up now.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

Peter ended up back at the compound only a day later. Tony had asked him to bring Maureen back. Something about the helicopter needing a tune-up, so he couldn't send it to get her as they'd originally discussed.

He agreed to drive back, secretly knowing he would turn right back around and come back to hide at the tower.

But as soon as he pulled into the compound's parking garage, he was greeted by FRIDAY.

"Peter, Boss wanted to see you in the lab upon your return." The voice echoed majestically, reverberating through the columns into each crevice of the garage.

He groaned quietly to himself. "Got it, FRI. Thanks."

"Don't wanna see Tony?" Maureen asked, grabbing her overnight bag from the backseat.

Maybe his groan hadn't been so quiet after all.

"I just really wanted to head back to the city for tonight's patrol." He shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant.

"Sorry you had to drive me all the way back out here." Maureen felt deflated. She'd really begun to felt close to Peter, but she ended up still a burden to him. When she'd realized he had carried her to bed the night before, she'd been so embarrassed considering how heavy she must have been. And now he was having to act as her chauffeur.

"Oh, no that's no problem!" Peter's voice echoed a bit more than he would've liked. Damn enhanced hearing. He cringed at the noise, and then lowered his voice. "I don't mind bringing you back at all. It's been a while since I've had fun on a long drive."

They'd spent the time debating which Disney animated classic villain was the most sympathetic. Peter thought it was Jafar, because the current sultan was a moron and Jafar was just saving the country from a ruinous idiot, but Maureen thought it was Captain Hook, because Peter just kept spurring him on and taking the games too far. That debate had spiraled into a discussion of Gaston's motivations in killing the beast, and whether they were altruistic because he thought the beast was a real threat, or if he only did it to kill off his competition.

Maureen returned the smile that had crept up on Peter's face. He was fun to debate with. Her smile waned though, as she considered the girl she had only just started dating before all Hell had broken loose. Peter reminded her a little of Robyn. The Disney discussion would've been something Robyn would have started. But Robyn hadn't returned any of her text messages or phone calls, and Maureen had given up. Likely it was all over town that Maureen had caused some explosion, which she had survived, and Ezra didn't. It shouldn't have been a surprise that Robyn would pretend she didn't exist. As far as she knew, her now-ex-girlfriend was a killer. Robyn had been one of the few in town who wasn't scared of her, who didn't think she was strange. But that wasn't true anymore.

Peter saw her smile wilt, and furrowed his eyebrows. He opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, but FRIDAY's voice echoed off the walls again.

"Peter? Do you require any assistance? I can call Mr. Stark."

"No, FRI, I'm coming up now."

The pair rode the elevator up into the main building. Both ended up in the lab. Peter, to see what Tony wanted, and Maureen to ask if she had any training for the day.

"Ah, the dynamic duo." Tony mused at the two.

Peter and Maureen both struggled not to blush, failing miserably, which prompted Tony to raise an eyebrow. He was only being sarcastic, but was there something he didn't know?

"Maureen, you've got therapy in about half an hour if you wanna drop your stuff off and head that way. Nat had to leave the country on a quick business trip-"

Peter and Maureen exchanged glances.

Tony ignored their shared look and continued. "So I actually needed Peter to see me to ask if he could work with you today on your training."

"Oh, sure, M—Tony."

Tony squinted at him. "I thought I finally rid you of that nasty habit of calling me Mr. Stark."

Peter shrugged. "Kinda tired. And old habits die hard, I guess."

Tony hummed his agreement. "Okay. Do you need to grab a nap before training?"

"No, no, I'm good." The last thing Peter wanted was to seem like he couldn't handle something. That could lead to questions, and questions were bad.

"Alright then. Nat's done a lot of hand to hand combat. I want you to work with Maureen on aiming and shooting moving targets. I added a few new touches to the training room while you two were out yesterday."

"Got it, Tony." Peter nodded and grinned at Maureen who in turn chuckled at the goofy expression.

Tony smirked and pushed a little further. "Remember to focus on training. I don't need to walk in on my son and his new gal pal making out behind a moving target."

Peter sputtered, "Wh-we wouldn't- I…- Tony!"

Maureen gaped for a moment before shaking her head vehemently, "I promise, I wouldn't…"

Both turned bright red.

They walked out in embarrassed silence. Tony chuckled to himself and wondered how long it would take for them to admit it, either to themselves, or to each other. He was going to need to create a new protocol for FRIDAY: the safe sex protocol.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

Maureen's therapy session was beginning to feel like torture. She'd made the mistake of admitting to the previous night's freak out, and Dr. Calhoun had latched onto it.

"So it was a panic attack."

"I…no, I mean… maybe?" Maureen studied the inspirational plaque with fervor, hoping the session would magically be at an end.

"Did the counting help?"

"A little," Maureen admitted. "At first. But then it was like I couldn't get the rhythm back. It was just lost."

"What did help?"

"Actually…Peter did. He was saying all this stuff like telling me where I was and who I was."

Dr. Calhoun nodded sagely.

"Do a lot of the Avengers have panic attacks? Or does he? Is that how he knew what to do?" Maureen hadn't considered it before. How _did_ Peter know to say those things?

Dr. Calhoun smiled kindly at her. "You know I can't discuss anyone else with you, Maureen. Not only is it against my oath, but it wouldn't be fair to them."

"Oh, yeah. Right. No, that's… I get it. I wouldn't want you to say anything about me to them." Maureen focused back on the plaque. There was a decorative vine that twirled around the letters, almost touching them, but never quite making a connection.

"What were you thinking about in the time that led to the panic attack?"

Maureen's eyes flickered up to the doctor's. She hadn't expected that question. So far Dr. Calhoun had let her guide most of the sessions, so it had been mostly superficial.

"I…" Maureen steadied her voice, which suddenly seemed raspy and weak. "I was thinking about what could've happened to the woman if we hadn't been there."

"And what sorts of things came to mind?"

When did Dr. Calhoun get so blunt? "Like…how she would've gone home by herself, still scared and in pain. Who she would have to tell. What her boyfriend or girlfriend might think of her."

"Is that something you think about a lot? What people will think of you if they know about Ezra?"

Maureen wished she could backtrack. She wanted to focus on the other woman. Not on her. "Sometimes."

"Were you afraid of what Tony and Bruce were going to think?" Dr. Calhoun had put her pen down onto the notepad.

Maureen nodded slowly.

"Do you think that they see you differently now?"

She opened her mouth to answer, and then closed it again, considering. "I don't think that they do, but…neither of them really knew me to begin with, ya know? So I don't know that they even really had an opinion of me when they found out. They might now though. They might think I'm some little girl who can't protect herself, or who goes ballistic when she does protect herself."

Dr. Calhoun nodded and picked her pen back up, scrawling some notes. A dark curl fell in front of her eyes as she wrote. Maureen chose to focus on that, the way it looped twice and then ended in a wispy half curl.

"But Tony is also letting me stay. And he's letting me train. That could mean he thinks I need the training, or it could mean he thinks I might be worth getting more training."

Maureen was almost rambling now.

"Bruce has been in and out of the compound since then, so I haven't seen him much, but he always smiles at me. And it's not like a fake pitying smile. Like you can see in his eyes that he's actually really nice. Which is weird, since you know, he's the Hulk and being the Hulk is all about being angry, right? But he's actually really sweet. So I guess he doesn't think that I'm stupid? Or maybe he does and the smiles are meant to make me feel less stupid? I don't know."

Dr. Calhoun scribbled a few other notes, letting Maureen continue with her rambling.

"But Nat doesn't know yet. At least, I don't think Tony or Bruce told her. She might have figured it out though? She seems pretty observant, and I get the feeling she can tell. Like she's very specific when she tells me what we're going to do next and where she's going to put her hands. So, I guess she did figure it out? I wonder if she went through the same thing. I don't know why I think that. It just feels like she understands and knows what to do to put me at ease. Well, not entirely at ease cuz her training is super hard."

Maureen paused, wrapping her brain around her thoughts.

"But Peter-" she cut herself off.

"Yes? What about Peter?" Dr. Calhoun prompted.

"Peter…he doesn't know." Maureen was quiet.

"And you think he will mind?"

She didn't answer Dr. Calhoun for a minute.

"Is Peter's opinion more important to you than the others' opinions?"

Maureen nodded, tears choking her.

"Why is Peter different?"

She was about to say it was because Peter was her friend. Her first real friend that she'd had, other than Robyn, in a long time. But it hit her suddenly and she was confused and curious all at once. When had she developed feelings for Peter?

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

Peter wandered back to the lab after he'd grabbed a bite to eat – a couple of grilled cheeses, a small bag of Doritos, and some leftover stew that Pepper had made a couple nights before. He mused at his idea of 'a bite to eat' these days as he entered the stillness of the lab. Tony was probably in his thinking mode. It was rare to come down to such quiet in the middle of the day.

Sure enough, Tony was leaned back in his chair, eyes closed.

Peter was about to say something, quietly so he wouldn't scare his mentor/adoptive father, but Tony spoke first.

"Hey, kid. What's up?"

"How did you know it was me?"

"Call it a hunch. Or call it the three layers of cologne you're wearing. Seriously, kid, one spray is sufficient." Tony smirked, eyes opening to take in his son. He mused at his readiness at calling Peter his son now. He knew the emptiness Peter still felt at the loss of his aunt, but he was at least glad that he could be there to help fill it a little.

"Nothing much. Just have another hour or so to kill before Maureen's ready for training."

"She's out of therapy in like 20 minutes." Tony sat up in his chair, glancing over the notes in front of him.

"Yeah, but therapy can be kind of exhausting. I figured she'd want like an hour or so between them to relax or zone out or whatever." Peter shrugged and stood over Tony's shoulder.

"That's considerate of you."

"I'm just nice like that. What's that?" Peter cocked his head at the notes.

"Considering gear for Maureen."

"So basically you're planning on what would happen if she became an Avenger." Peter felt a surge of excitement. Maureen might stay.

"Don't get too excited, Underoos. I haven't asked her to stay or anything. I just figured I might as well get a head start on it. Plus that way she could train in it too. Get used to it."

"What do you have so far?" Peter tried to skim the man's notes but found them too disorganized and random to get a full grasp of the plans.

"The basics at the moment. Using the nanotech to make it work with fact that she can make her body a giant torch."

"Definitely wouldn't want her outfit just burning away, so that makes sense." Peter nodded and grabbed a chair, settling next to Tony. "Do you know what it will look like yet?"

"Not quite. I want her opinion on what she would find comfortable. But she does seem to wear a lot of black, so at least that is something I figure she'll want."

Peter glanced up, a bit surprised that Tony had paid such attention.

"Don't look so shocked. I can be observant too. Even if I do basically live down here."

With a chuckle, Peter nodded. "I know you're observant. I just didn't know you took note of fashion choices."

Tony shrugged. "I've been married too long, what can I say?"

The pair settled into a comfortable silence for a moment as they pondered the notes in front of them.

"We need to make sure it's light so it doesn't weigh her down when she levitates," Peter added. "I have the benefit of extra strength, so the weight of mine isn't an issue, but her powers don't include enhanced strength. It could just make her run out of energy faster."

Tony hummed. "True, true." He jotted some notes and stood up. "Good thinking!" He clapped Peter on the back.

Peter, not expecting the touch, flashed back to the nightmares he'd had after he'd finally settled into a restless sleep the night before. His body flinched almost imperceptibly, but it didn't get past Tony.

"Pete, what's up?"

"N-nothing. Just a bad bruise from patrol last night." Peter stood from the chair, trying to act naturally. "I'm sure it'll be gone by tonight. Yay healing."

"Oh, sorry, man." Tony walked towards the elevator. "You want some popcorn before training? Pepper said I need to get more fiber in my diet. Popcorn counts, right?" He chuckled.

Peter's laugh was awkward, as he tried to recover from the horror of recoiling from Tony. "There is fiber in it, so yeah?"

Tony's smile turned to a curious look of concern. "You sure you're okay?"

He received a vehement nod in return. "Absolutely. I think I'll head on up and see if Maureen's up for training now. She finished therapy what, like… forty minutes ago?"

The older man looked down at his watch and raised an eyebrow at Peter. "More like ten minutes ago."

"Oh. Oh, well. Maybe she'll want to get some frustrations out after sitting with Dr. Calhoun for so long. I'll see you at dinner." Peter was gone, jogging up the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator with Tony.

Tony narrowed his eyes, staring at the staircase door, and wondering what had gotten into the young Spiderling.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

Maureen studied the movement in her mind for a moment before launching the fireball. It inched past the gliding dummy and landed with a singe on the wall behind it.

"Dammit!" Sparks flew from her fingertips as her anger intensified. They'd been there for 20 minutes and she'd only made two hits so far.

"You're overthinking it. Just picture where it will be and throw there." Peter was hanging on the far right wall, well out of the way of any potential fire hazards.

"Easier said than done, Spider-boy!" She spat, rolling her eyes.

"Don't think! It'll be second nature."

The dummy whirred back and forth across the room, attached to a tiny robot that Maureen suspected was a Roomba modified to move faster, and in a specific pattern.

With a deep breath, Maureen centered her body and mind to relax. Levitating inches from the ground, she sent a fireball dancing across the room and straight into the wafting dummy.

"Yes!" Her body soared higher off the ground, the excitement causing bursts of energy to surge through her.

"Awesome! You showed that dummy who's boss." Peter pulled out a tiny remote and hit a sequence of buttons. "Now try this."

The dummy continued to move, but sped up and moved a bit more erratically, as if drunk after a night on the town.

The only response Peter received was a long, deep groan.

"You've got this. Just do exactly what you did last time."

Maureen exhaled and let her body relax. She just needed to focus. Her mind shut everything else out: the hum of the dummy's Roomba-like base, the quiet hiss of the air conditioning...

With a quick flick of her wrist, she thrust a fireball at the dummy. The force of the energy sent the dummy pummeling backward, overturning it from its base.

She and Peter both gaped as the base continued to move in its programmed pattern, the dummy taken down to the floor, still and defeated.

"Well shit." Maureen snorted at the dummy.

"Okay, so… how did you make that happen? Because that's what needs to happen every time." Peter backed a little ways down the wall before jumping to the floor.

The two met at the face-down dummy. Peter lifted it from the ground, realizing that if it weren't for his strength, it would've taken both of them to lift it for how heavy it was.

"Honestly? I just started channeling back to when I was doing stuff like yoga. My therapist suggested it after Mom's death as a way to work on stress relief. I used to go every week before…" She drifted off, gesturing to the compound.

"Okay, so tell Tony to get you a yoga instructor. Got it." Peter clicked the remote so the base finally halted in its tracks. "I'll set this back up and then we can try some other stuff. I think Tony even has the base set up to hover." He grinned mischievously.

This time Maureen nodded. "Alright. Let's do this."

**Author's Note:** The Disney Debates are all real and come from long road trip conversations between my husband and me. Peter's beliefs follow with my husband's. Maureen's are more aligned with my own.


	5. Chapter 5

Trigger warnings:

Non-con touching/sexual acts

Descriptions/memories of non-con sexual acts

Self deprecating thoughts

By the end of the week, Maureen had been to two of her own private yoga sessions with Devin, the instructor Tony had hired within hours of Peter explaining how yoga factored into Maureen's concentration.

Maureen slipped into her favorite yoga pants, black with pink and green stripes on either side, and tossed her Ghostbusters tank top over her sports bra. With yoga back in her life, she felt more balanced. Even therapy seemed to be easier now. She'd gone a little more in-depth with Dr. Calhoun about the rape and had considered telling Peter about it.

She and Peter had spent much of their time together. Whenever he was back at the compound, and not in the city patrolling, they hung around each other. It had gotten annoying watching the others send each other eyebrow raises and smirks when they thought the pair wasn't looking, but as long as Peter didn't notice, she didn't care. Maureen had gotten adept at hiding her feelings early on after she'd been too obvious about a crush on another student. The kids had teased her mercilessly, and her crush had joined in so that he wouldn't be included in the bullying. As long as Peter didn't pick up on her feelings for him, she would be fine. It was easy liking him and just being okay with their friendship. But there was no way she could deal with the inevitable rejection if he found out. She couldn't lose his friendship too.

With a bounce in her step that she was almost certain had never been there before, Maureen pushed the door into the private studio that Tony had set up for her. It wasn't very large, probably only big enough for three or four people to stretch out on their yoga mats, but it was perfect. The lighting was kept at about 30%, there were a few ferns and bamboo shoots along the left wall, and Peter had bought a small fountain and side table that sat in the left front corner.

Devin smiled as she entered. "Having a good day?"

She nodded back at him. "I just feel so much more relaxed."

"Well, that's good. Let's get started, then." He pushed play on the remote that controlled the sound system Tony had installed. Maureen had asked why he didn't just have Devin use FRIDAY to play the music, but Tony was adamant that he didn't want Devin to have that access. As far as Maureen knew, Devin had no idea that she had powers, or that Peter was Spider-man. Peter had joined her for the first yoga session but had explained that he wanted her to get the most out of them, which meant that he wouldn't be there to distract her. This, of course, was after he'd spent much of the session making faces at her and goofily trying not to be _too good_ at the poses. At one point he had let himself fall almost flat on his face to act like he was just an uncoordinated teen boy. Something about not seeming like he had powers that gave him an advantage at bending and twisting.

They always began the same way: light stretching, deep breathing, and ridding themselves of outside thoughts or distractions.

Mentally, she pushed aside the anxiety she felt at not being good enough for Peter. She batted away the picture in her head of how big she must look to him compared with other girls he'd mentioned in the past, his ex-girlfriends, Liz and MJ. She breathed through the fears that Nat wasn't happy with her progressions in training, or that Tony considered her to be a burden that had been dropped at his doorstep, another person to pay for.

Devin led her into some starting poses, doggie to plank, down and up into cobra. So on until she had a rhythm.

"We're going to try a Kapotasana today. Pull your right leg in front of you at a bend, yes like that…and stretch your left leg behind you."

The position was still comfortable, just a light stretch pulling at her legs.

"Now lift your left leg towards your head…"

She complied, lifting her leg, but not very high. As good as she was at yoga, her weight sometimes got in the way of stretching as far as others.

Devin came up behind her. "Here, just like…" His hands pushed Maureen's leg a little further. "Now reach back and grab your foot with both hands."

Her back arched as deeply as she could go as she reached up and over her head, grabbing her left foot.

"Excellent, excellent. Do you feel the stretch in your chest?"

Maureen nodded, agreeing as she felt Devin's hands come forwards and grasp her breasts. He palmed them, moving from the bottom up. "Feel the stretch right here."

She froze. It felt wrong, but she was sure he was just showing her the move.

"You're doing fantastic on this pose. If you bend back a little more you'll also feel the stretch in your hips and groin." His hands slid down her body, caressing her hips first and then gliding towards the inside of her thighs. He brushed over her yoga pants with a quick stroke over her underwear.

She shuddered but stayed in place. If she told Tony, would he be angry he had paid for this instructor only for her to complain?

As if he could read Maureen's thoughts, Devin spoke, his mouth whispering at her ear. "You know, Tony pays me quite a bit of money. Paid me for three months in advance. You wouldn't want him to lose out on that money, would you?"

Maureen whimpered, "No."

"I didn't think so. See if you can hold this pose a little longer. Really _feel_ that stretch." His fingers pushed under the waistband of her yoga pants and underwear, pressing downward until he reached her opening. He stroked her folds and dipped two fingers into her, pushing quickly so that she let out a gasp.

"See? This feels so good, doesn't it?" He pulled his hand from her pants and instead reached into his own, tugging the band down so she could see how erect he was.

"Now…let's try plank again. But this time… with a twist."

Maureen felt herself let go of her foot and move her body into a plank. She hadn't consciously done it, but somehow she was in the position. Devin sat in front of her face, legs stretched out on either side so that his cock was at the perfect height for her mouth.

"See how long you can stay in plank. It's excellent for strength." With a grin, he leaned forward, pushing himself into her mouth.

She gagged at the intrusion. Even Ezra hadn't made her use her mouth. Devin tasted like sweat and salt, and it took every ounce of her not to vomit right then. The disgust made her drop out of position and land with a soft plop on her mat. The change caused her to drop him from her mouth.

"Well, that won't do. Back up; let's do this again."

Maureen felt the tears start to stream down her face.

"There is no need to cry. You need to focus your mind and rid it of outside distractions." Devin snapped. "Now, into plank."

She lifted herself back up and accepted his erection.

She couldn't disappoint Tony. Not after he had taken her in, paid for everything she needed. She refused to be a burden on him, financially or otherwise. So if that meant doing what Devin wanted, then it was what she had to do.

She had to earn the right to be an Avenger.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

Peter rolled over and groaned at the light streaming into his room. The clock next to his bed said it was almost ten thirty. He'd likely slept in because he'd been up half the night trying to suppress the nightmares that had clicked back into place. Tony was going to wonder where he was. Normally he was up by eight thirty or nine.

Muscles creaking, Peter stumbled out of bed and towards the shower. Perhaps a cold shower this morning. He needed all the help he could get to stay awake. He and Maureen had a combined training today with Nat and the last thing he needed was to fall asleep standing up with Nat sending roundhouse kicks towards his head.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

By the time he had showered, eaten a light breakfast, and gotten to the training room, Peter felt minutely more awake. He didn't feel great, but he also didn't feel hungover, and he supposed that was good enough.

He did a double take of Maureen as he sidled up next to her. She looked about like he felt.

"Tired?" He asked.

She jumped at his voice.

"Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to scare you."

"It's okay. Yeah, just… yoga has been sort of wearing me out the last couple of days." Her body slouched, the bags under her eyes more pronounced than they had been when she'd first arrived weeks earlier.

Peter considered. Had it really only been a matter of weeks? He felt a flutter in his stomach. Maureen made him feel more at ease. Just standing next to her was already giving him more energy and more comfort. The memory of his nightmares felt lessened suddenly, easier to push aside. He breathed deeply. He could do this.

"Alright, kiddos. I'm gonna have you two spar first so I can watch the technique and correct you as you go." Natasha's energy almost made Maureen flinch. Peter drooped next to her.

Natasha waited for a moment. "Well? Get on."

The two teens nodded and got into stance.

Peter moved first, aiming a lackluster crescent kick at his sparring partner. Maureen dodged it, but barely.

"Peter, tighter on the kick. Maureen, you were off balance on that dodge. Did you feel yourself have to overcorrect?"

Neither teen answered, but kept moving instead. Maureen threw a couple of half-assed punches towards Peter. The first glanced the side of Peter's cheek, but the second he stepped out of.

The foray continued with sloppy kicks and punches, and even sloppier counter moves and feints. It wasn't long before both were out of breath, and too exhausted to continue.

Nat stared at them, a look of disbelief on her face. "What…what was that?"

Both avoided her gaze, too ashamed to answer.

"Have either of you been practicing? Or… sleeping? Too busy playing video games all night?" Her words cut through them.

Tony strolled in just then. Peter wished he could melt into the ground, disappear from what he knew was coming. Maureen counted in her head, steadying her breathing.

"Hey, Superheroes-named-after-spiders. Hey, yet-to-be-named-one. What's up?"

Nat glared at him, stopping him in his tracks.

"Whoa, down Man Killer. What the hell did I do?" Tony lifted his arms in surrender.

"I'm not going to keep training two teenagers if they refuse to take care of themselves. I have some business to attend to. I'll be back tomorrow." With that, she was gone, and they were left to face the disappointment, and maybe the wrath, of their benefactor.

"Either of you want to fill me in?"

Peter and Maureen exchanged quick glances, but no one spoke.

"Okay, so here's what I'm guessing: I'm guessing that you two are acting like teenagers and either you're shirking practice, because hey you've got powers, what does it matter if you can dodge a punch, right? Or there's something more going on at night and we need to have a very serious adult conversation."

Tony studied their faces, expecting the blushes that he'd been noticing in the pair. But today, both paled considerably. Maureen wavered like she was going to pass out.

"We're not… I'm not…" Peter struggled. "I've just been getting less sleep."

Tony narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

Peter's mouth gaped, reminding Tony of a goldfish he used to own. Was Peter having nightmares again? He knew of the nightmares he'd had after Ben's death, and then again after May's death. Tony glanced from Peter to Maureen and nodded at Peter, not wanting to expose his nightmares to the girl he so obviously had a thing for. "Okay, we'll talk later."

"Maureen?"

Her eyes flew up, wide open and fearful. "Um…I guess I haven't been getting great sleep either. Uh…just, just some stuff that came up with Dr. Calhoun."

Tony felt a surge of remorse. The two were clearly struggling with past trauma, and he was accusing them of staying up all night for hot sex. He sighed.

"Okay. I want you both to go get some rest. And you should not take that as a light suggestion. I'll see you at dinner."

Maureen and Peter were left standing in the room alone. A part of Maureen didn't want to go back to her room, alone with her thoughts. With the memories of the last two yoga sessions, and Devin's hands on her, in her, his erection pushing into her mouth.

Peter hesitated. Despite feeling so tired, he'd felt better here, with her.

"So I guess I should go take a nap or something," Maureen said.

He nodded. "Yeah."

The room was silent.

"Um… do you wanna go watch a movie in my room?" Peter suggested.

"Will Tony be mad?" Her voice was a whisper.

"He just said to rest. He never outright said we had to _nap_."

The pair smiled weakly at each other and headed for Peter's room to pick out a movie.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

Tony glanced at the clock. It was almost six thirty, and dinner would be ready soon. With a painful stretch, back creaking, he stood from his chair and headed towards their rooms. He knocked on Maureen's door first.

"Maureen? Almost time for dinner."

No answer.

He knocked again. "Maureen?" A little louder this time.

"FRI, is Maureen asleep still?"

"She is not in her room, Mr. Stark."

Tony grumbled. "I swear if those two lied to me and there is…_hanky panky_ going on…" He trudged next door to Peter's room, ready to breathe fire if he found them together.

"FRIDAY, who is in Peter's room right now?"

"Currently Peter and Maureen are both present in the room, Mr. Stark."

He was going to kill them. They had denied to his face that anything was going on between them. He had felt _guilty _for accusing them!

Tony reached for the handle but paused. What was he about to walk into? "FRIDAY, um… are they… what are they doing?"

"Heartrate and breathing shows that both occupants are asleep, Sir."

He reached for the door again, but once more hesitated. "Are…are they wearing anything?"

"Both seem to be fully clothed."

With a sigh of relief, Tony swung the door open and found the two on the couch in front of Peter's TV. _Beauty and the Beast_ was wrapping up, and both were sound asleep. Maureen was propped against Peter's side, her head resting on his chest, and his arm was slung around her, holding her at the hip. But, as FRIDAY had confirmed, they were still fully dressed in what they'd been wearing when he'd seen them last.

As Tony moved to leave the room, determined to let them sleep longer, Peter twitched in his sleep, his face scrunching up as if in pain.

So his kid _was_ having nightmares again. His heart sunk. Peter had already been through so much. He didn't need nightmares added on to that too.

He laid his hand lightly on Peter's shoulder to wake him, hopefully without disturbing Maureen.

But instead, Peter jerked violently in his sleep, his eyes snapping open with fear.

Maureen almost fell from the bed from the force of his movement. Tony caught her before she hit the floor, but within seconds she leapt from his catch, her breathing labored.

His eyes flickered between the two, wondering what the hell was going on with them.

"Are you two okay?"

Both started nodding, giving lackluster reassurances.

Tony took a deep breath, wondering how he could get them to fess up to whatever was bugging them.

"Dinner is almost ready. Maureen, why don't you head back to your room and change out of your training clothes?" He would have to touch base with her later. One kid at a time.

She nodded complacently, and left Peter's room, headed back towards her own.

"Alright, kid. Let's talk." Tony settled on the opposite side of the couch from where Peter still sat.

Peter focused on trying the different techniques Dr. Calhoun had taught him to prevent panic attacks. He started to count his breath while Tony spoke to him.

"Did something trigger the nightmares? Are they about May… or… Ben?"

Tony's voice was so sympathetic Peter could've cried. He was just trying to help.

But there was no way Peter could tell him. What would Tony think? How could a superhero just let someone…_do that_ to them?

And then Tony scooted closer to him and put a hand on his back.

He wasn't quite aware of his actions. His body seemed to move of its own accord. It wasn't until Tony was bent over, clutching his stomach and Peter was standing two feet away that Peter knew what he'd done.

"Oh my gosh, Tony, I'm so… I'm so sorry." Peter stared in horror, his hand over his mouth. What had he done?

"It…it's okay." Tony wheezed. He took a few deep breaths and made a concerted effort to move a space down on the couch. "But how about you sit and fill me in."

"Um, but isn't dinner…" Peter motioned towards the main living space down the hall.

"I don't care about dinner right now, Peter. I care about why you just punched me in the gut and yelled at me not to touch you."

Tony watched the life drain from Peter's face.

"I…I said that?" His voice was shallow, struggling to get the words out.

"The nightmares aren't about May or Ben, are they?" Tony asked. For a moment he considered with horror that maybe they _were_ about his aunt or uncle. Maybe Peter's nightmares had been about them this whole time and he'd never known the truth.

He was relieved as Peter sank onto the couch with a strangled, "No."

"Who are they about?"

The teen hero looked up at Tony with a mixture of horror and disgust. "You're going to be really mad."

"I would rather be really mad than continue to see you suffer because you can't sleep at night." Tony try to relax his body, but Peter was starting to scare him. Who had hurt his kid?

Peter sighed and found a spot on the floor that looked really interesting. "I was eight…"

Eight? What the fuck had happened to him when he was eight? Tony already thought of him as a kid…

The look on Peter's face made Tony realize his face had gone into a deep scowl. He relaxed and cleared his throat. "Go on."

"My elementary school changed their hours, because of all those studies that showed that older kids did better later in the day. So they swapped the times the elementary school and high school were in. But that meant I needed a babysitter, because before Ben would get off work right when school let out. After the switch, I got out two hours before he would be off. So on the days that May had to work, they found a student in our apartment building. He was a freshman in college, almost 19."

Tony swallowed the nausea he felt stirring in his stomach.

"Skip was… I mean, at first I worshipped him." Peter's voice was bitter, regretful. "I just wanted him to think I was cool. I didn't have a ton of friends then. Really, I had like none. I think he'd been sitting for me for like two weeks when he…" He panics for a second. What the fuck was he doing telling Tony? "Just… can you promise me you won't like… do that thing where you look at me with pity? And…can I still be an Avenger?" His voice was so small.

"I'm not gonna think any less of you. And you most certainly will still be an Avenger." He was already dreaming up ways to destroy the person who had led Peter to believe that Tony would ever pity him or look at him as lesser.

The boy looked relieved as he continued on, but he was noticeably fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. "Skip showed me some magazines and a video of…. Well." Peter inhaled deeply. "At first he just made me watch him, and then made me copy him while he watched. But then he started touching me and made me touch him back…"

Tony looked horror-stricken. "Peter…did he…ever…?"

He shook his head adamantly. "He probably would have but May figured it out before then. I had a doctor's appointment and thought… I thought the doctor was going to want me to do some of the same stuff that Skip made me do and I got really upset and refused to take my shirt off. So they realized pretty quickly what was happening. It had probably been like three weeks at that point."

His mentor closed his eyes and tried to steady himself. Peter did not need him to be angry right now. He could be angry later. "What happened to him?"

"May and Ben pressed charges. He got 9 years for forcible touching, and sexual abuse in the first degree, plus a couple of other sex assault charges."

"Nine years…" Tony repeated.

"He got out two years ago. It should've been a year ago, but he got out early on good behavior." Peter laughed bitterly.

"Has he contacted you since then?"

"No, fortunately. He has a restraining order against him. It may also have helped that Ben threatened to kill him if he ever saw him again."

It struck Tony suddenly. "That month when you took off from patrolling. When you disappeared. May said it was because of school…"

"It was when he got out. I sort of just shut down. Went back to my therapist for the first time in years. The school agreed to let me do work from home. I just had to go in after hours to do tests and the like."

Tony's mind reeled. How had he not known? It made sense. The withdrawn behavior for the couple of months after. The hesitancy he'd used around Tony. And that whole time he'd thought it was stress. That it was school stuff.

"Kid…" His voice cracked. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there to help you."

"There's no way you could've known. You didn't even know me back then…" Peter dropped his shirt hem and met Tony's eyes with his for the first time in what felt like days.

"I meant two years ago. I should've known." His insides were twisting, boiling with rage. He should've been there.

"I told May I didn't want you to know. She thought we should tell you, but I told her no. Begged her."

"Because you thought I wouldn't let you be an Avenger anymore," Tony filled in.

Peter nodded silently.

"God, what kind of a shitty person am I that I made you think you couldn't be an Avenger because someone else abused you? I'm so sorry, Peter."

The boy looked shocked. "You aren't a shitty person! You're like… the absolute best. I just… I guess I was just ashamed. I mean, I am still, really. I didn't want you to see me differently."

"I see you now like I saw you before: as an amazing person who has survived more shit than anyone should. And regardless of what you've suffered through, I'll always see you as my son." It was the first time he'd said it aloud. He knew it, and judging by the looks she gave him, Pepper knew it. But he'd never told Peter. He should've told him before this.

Peter was speechless. He'd seen Tony as a father long ago, but he never knew Tony saw him as a son.

"I'm sorry I waited this long to say something."

Instead of replying, Peter leaned over and hugged him. Tony returned the hug, gently at first, and then tighter. "Love you, kid."

"I love you too, Tony."

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

Devin leered at her from above. After the first time, he barely even made a pretense of yoga anymore. Now they immediately launched into whatever he wanted to do that day.

She had tried to talk Peter into coming with her for today's session, figuring that Devin would stick to yoga if Peter came too. But he and Tony were working on something in the lab. He'd apologized and promised that he would come next time if it meant that much to her.

Three weeks. Three weeks of pretending that everything was normal. That yoga was helping. Tony had asked her about yoga yesterday. How she liked it.

She had stuttered so badly that she'd thought he would know. But they'd been interrupted by Steve, who had called Tony with some issue from Fury that couldn't wait.

Today Devin wanted to watch. He had her touch herself while he filmed. The recordings were new. "Incentives" he had called them. Incentives for her not to tell Tony. A ripple of horror went through her as she imagined Tony, or worse, Peter, seeing the videos. Her fat spilling over the sides of her yoga pants and she held the waistband open and touched herself. The creases in her stomach as she pawed at her breasts, tank top and sports bra yanked up by her neck. She needed those videos to stay buried.

It was over once he'd filmed himself masturbating to her. He made her stay and watch it to fill in the remaining portion of their hour. She just hoped the trails on her cheeks made by her tears, or the redness in her eyes, weren't too obvious as she trudged back to her room for the shower she desperately wanted.

She was so close to safety… just steps from her room, when Peter stepped into the hall from his room next door.

"Hey, Reen." He walked towards her as she fervently prayed to a deity she didn't believe in that she looked okay. "You wanna play some Lego later? I really want to beat that last level." His smile was wide, and so genuine.

"Uh, sure. Maybe after dinner? I wanna go get washed up…"

"Yeah, no problem." He paused. "You okay?" He studied her face, her eyes.

"Yeah, absolutely. Just… yoga kicked my ass today." She glanced down, hoping her gaze shift wasn't so abrupt that he would notice or think anything of it.

He furrowed his eyebrows. "Okay. Well, I'll see you at dinner."

She disappeared into her room, the door clicking softly behind her.

Peter had just stepped away from her door when he paused and turned back. His hearing picked up the slightest sound from Maureen's room.

It took him a minute to realize that Maureen was crying.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

Sweat rolled down Maureen's temples, down her cheeks, and down the middle of her back. Her breath was ragged, and her body begged to lie down.

"Try again." Peter had long ago pulled his mask off, his hair plastered to his skin from the sweat that glistened on his forehead.

Maureen groaned and threw her hands up. "Peter, this is ridiculous. We've been at it for over an hour and I still haven't been able to immobilize you."

"You're holding back. You aren't going to hurt me, I swear. Tony fireproofed my gear. But the energy could still take me down. You just need to hit me hard enough." He sat on one of the metal beams that crossed the length of the ceiling.

He was partially right. She had been holding back a little, scared of hurting him. But mostly it was because she couldn't focus, couldn't get herself into a state of concentration.

"You've got this."

His encouragement was somewhat endearing, she had to admit.

She tried to center herself, but as she had the last several times, she flashed to Devin. With a sigh, she flung a fireball at Peter who leapt from the beam and swung with ease to the next beam.

With a scream of anger, she hurled fireball after fireball at him, but he swung gracefully away from each.

Finally she let the energy drop from her body, and the room was still.

Peter swung over to her and dropped lightly next to her.

"Hey. What's up?"

It wasn't a greeting. It was a question of concern.

"I just can't focus today. No big."

He stepped up next to her and put a hand on her arm. It took every ounce of her not to pull away at his touch. "Is the yoga not helping? Should we ask Tony to get him to come more often?"

"No!" Her reaction was instant, and she immediately regretted it. "I just mean it would probably take too much out of me, is all. And I don't want Tony spending more money than necessary."

Peter scoffed. "Tony has more money than he knows what to do with. He'd probably be grateful for a legitimate reason to spend some of it."

"It's fine. Too much of a good thing, ya know?" Her laugh sounded fake even to her.

"Alright. Well how about I help you focus? I could lead you through a meditation. It was something Dr. Calhoun used to do."

Maureen searched for a reason to say no, but came up short. "We can try, I guess."

"Okay. Close your eyes."

Maureen inhaled and followed his instructions.

"Picture yourself someplace where you feel safe."

Her first instinct was to imagine herself in Peter's arms, like that time she'd fallen asleep next to him watching _Beauty and the Beast_. He'd been so comfortable, so warm. So safe.

"You're feeling safe. You start to watch your worries fleeing. Your mind is relaxed, and empty of all concerns."

Maureen started to relax. Peter's voice enveloped her, silky and smooth.

"Feel that relaxation spread through your body. It's covering over you."

The energy radiated through her, sparks sizzling at her fingertips.

"The energy is balancing through your right side, and now your left. Can you feel the energy? Centering you?"

_Can you feel… can you feel the stretch? _Devin's voice slithered into her mind. _Feel the stretch, right there… yes, excellent. _Her breathing was off kilter, the energy pulsing through her. _Feel the stretch, Maureen. Remember, Tony can never know… _

Maureen's eyes snapped open as a torrent of fire let loose, engulfing her body in flame. Peter cursed and ducked, covering his head.

As quickly as it was there, the fire vanished as Maureen collapsed.


	6. Chapter 6

Trigger warnings:  
Sexual assault

Self deprecating thoughts

Maureen hit the ground, the energy wiped from her. She could feel Peter next to her, but she struggled to get up.

It felt like minutes, but was likely only seconds, before she finally stumbled to her feet.

"Was that too much? Are you okay? I am so sorry, Reeni. I really didn't think that would cause problems." Peter had his hand on his cheek.

"Did I burn you? Oh shit, Peter, I'm sorry."

"I'm fine, it'll heal within the day. It's my fault for pushing you." He waved off her concern.

"It's not your fault. I lost control. Again. Maybe this is a terrible idea." She closed her eyes. She should've known better than to imagine that she could be an Avenger. How stupid was she?

"What? No! You will be an amazing Avenger!" Peter had his hand on her arm suddenly, but this time she couldn't push the feeling aside. She blanched at his touch, stepping away from him.

Peter thought of the nightmares he'd overheard weeks before. He hadn't mentioned them to her, hadn't felt like it was his place to say anything.

"Did… did I say something that reminded you of…" He drifted off. How could he tell her he'd listened in to her calling out during a nightmare? "Did I remind you of something?"

Maureen shook her head. "I just lost control of the energy, that's all."

His eyes glided across her face, wondering how he could help her. It was with a lot of fear that he said the first thing that came to his mind. "I was molested when I was 8."

The gasp was barely audible, but he heard it clearly.

"By my babysitter, a college student named Skip. He got out of jail two years ago."

She wracked her brain trying to think of what to say. _I'm sorry_ simultaneously sounded pitying, and not sufficient. "Oh my gosh, Peter. People suck. And I'm happy to fry him if you want."

Peter laughed. That had been the last thing he had expected her to say. But he needed to remember the subject at hand. "I just say this because well… a little while back, without meaning to, because you know I have this crazy hearing and sometimes I just… hear things. Well, I heard you calling out in the night."

He hadn't thought it possible for her face to be whiter than it was, but apparently he'd been wrong.

"Wh-what did I say?"

"You were telling someone to stop. Telling them not to touch you." Peter spoke quietly, almost reverently. "I just wanted you to know that I've been there. I mean, maybe not exactly, but… I get some of it."

Regardless of whether the dream had been about Ezra or Devin, she could just tell him about Ezra. And if it had been a while ago, it probably had been about Ezra anyway. It would be okay. And he wasn't freaking out about it. It was safe to tell him, then. But Devin… Devin had to remain her secret. She needed Tony to know she could be reliable. That she wasn't some stupid little girl who could let an enemy blackmail her. And if he didn't know about Devin, then he wouldn't know she had ever fallen into his trap.

"The day of the explosion." Maureen sunk to the training room floor and pulled her knees to her chest. "His name was Ezra. I worked at this local inn, sort of like a bed and breakfast but bigger. He was the son of the owner. He'd always creeped me out, but he didn't come around much, so it wasn't terrible. Every once in a while he would make lewd comments to me, or brush up against me. Small things that made me think I was just imagining it or making into something when it was really nothing. But then he found out I was seeing this girl in town. Ezra was insane about religion. He followed the Bible almost to the letter. If some things weren't illegal now, like stoning people, he would've done that too, I think."

Peter settled next to her on the floor, at a distance that he hoped would make her feel safe, but also not crowded.

"He came up behind me in the barn. Started telling me I was sinning by dating a girl. That I needed to be purified." She scoffed. "He grabbed me and started to try to pull my clothes off. I screamed, but the barn was on the edge of the property. No one was around to hear me, and he knew that. I would've fought back, but I was terrified I was going to overdo it and hurt him. Ironic after everything that ended up happening. But at the time, I thought my fire would be out of control because of my fear and that I would get in trouble for burning him, and then also have to deal with the fallout of everyone knowing that I had powers. So I tried to just overpower him on my own." A tear slipped from the corner of her eye. She brushed it away quickly, ashamed of crying in front of this amazing boy who had been abused as a child and had stood in front of her, repeating it like he hadn't lived through something horrific.

"I tried so hard, but… Ezra may have been crazy, but he was also very strong. I wanted to shut down, but he kept slapping me, making me come out of centering so that I could 'be purified.' He was buckling his pants back and telling me how I was pure now that he had…" She paused, eyes closed to gather herself in order to continue. "That was when I lost control. I was sobbing and in so much pain and I couldn't hold it in any longer. I'd never released energy like that before. That's the last thing I remember until the cops came. I walked out of the fire and fell to the ground in front of them."

Peter had been silent throughout her story, his heart aching as he pictured her terrified and in pain in the barn, able to defend herself, but too worried that she would hurt someone.

"Would it be okay if I hugged you?" He asked.

For a moment he thought she was going to say no, but Maureen nodded slowly.

Peter scooted next to her and put one arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him carefully, allowing herself to be pulled against him.

"We can both survive this, Reeni. We just need to stick together."

The tears flowed freely down Maureen's cheeks as she buried her head in Peter's chest. She wasn't quite sure what she'd done to deserve him, but she was grateful for it.

"Is that why you're having problems centering? Does it make you flashback to Ezra not letting you center?" Peter's voice hummed through his chest, echoing into her ear.

It would be so easy to tell him the truth. She considered it for a moment. But the images of Devin recording on his phone came into her mind.

"Yeah. It's still pretty strong."

Peter held her tighter, and she sighed a little into his chest.

All she had to do was survive Devin. But with Peter there, she knew she could.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

She convinced Peter to come with her to yoga for the next week, much to Devin's annoyance. Now that Peter knew about Ezra, it was easy to tell him she was struggling with centering in yoga, and that she was more comfortable with him there. That it helped her center.

Despite Devin being in the room, getting to actually do yoga again did make her feel more in control. Though that was probably in part because Peter was there.

On nights Peter was at the compound and not in the city patrolling, he and Maureen camped out on his couch after dinner, watching movies or playing games until their eyes refused to stay open. Sometimes Maureen fell asleep there, and the two remained curled up together until morning. Other times, she shuffled half asleep to her own bed.

Some nights, Peter was woken by the sounds of Maureen having a nightmare in her room. On those nights, he slid into the Spider-man slippers, padded down the hall, and climbed into bed with her.

Neither spoke of the fact that the rest of the Avengers team knew about this arrangement. Neither spoke of the fact that Peter came back to the compound after catching only a few hours' worth of sleep post-patrol, and did not stay for days at a time like he used to.

Neither knew that the team had bets going as to when the two would finally start dating.

Tony watched quietly. He decided not to approach Maureen about flinching away from him after finding her and Peter together. Figured it was related to Ezra. While Dr. Calhoun couldn't tell him how their therapy sessions were going, she did confirm that Maureen was attending regularly.

Peter had talked with him more about Skip since his initial confession. The aftermath. The trial. Tony hadn't said anything, but he knew where Skip was now (a middle of nowhere town in Texas), what he did for a living (a variety of get-rich-quick schemes, which Tony was pleased to see, weren't doing well), what his daily routine was (pretty mundane).

If Skip Westcott so much as stepped out of Texas, Tony would know about it.

After a blissful week of being left alone by Devin, Peter was needed for what Tony called "a two for one." The team was doing a little bit of PR for the sake of the government, and there was a reconnaissance mission for Fury. Both were located in Washington DC.

"It'll be like two days, tops. Tomorrow we do the PR stuff, and then the day after it's work." Peter reassured Maureen, who tried to act like it was no big deal that her sleeping partner-slash-yoga-buddy was going to be gone on a potentially deadly trip. She was standing next to him in his room, watching him pack the absolute basics, which apparently included a tiny Han Solo action figure.

She nodded, still hesitant but desperate not to show it.

Peter zipped the duffel bag and swung it easily over his shoulder. "I'll text you if anything cool happens. Or anything funny. Or if like something crazy happens and you should know about it."

Maureen chuckled. "So basically you'll text me."

"Yeah, pretty much."

The pair stood awkwardly for a minute trying to decide what the protocol was here. Did they hug? Fist bump? High five? Were high fives still okay, or were they just considered stupid now?

They walked to the door side by side, still wondering what came next.

"So I'll see you in a couple of days." After a hesitant beat, Peter reached over and gave her a sort of side hug with just his free arm. And then he was gone.

Maureen remained locked in place. A side hug? What the hell did that mean?

Peter, who practically jogged down the hall because he knew he would otherwise be running late, mentally chastised himself. A side hug? What the hell was he thinking?

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

The grin on Devin's face when she walked into yoga alone the next day was unbearable.

"No protector today, I see?"

Maureen shrugged, likely failing at her attempts to be nonchalant. "He had to go away for a couple of days. I can't help it if he really likes yoga."

"Likes yoga? That boy is only here for one thing, sweetheart, and it is not yoga." Devin eyed her up and down. "A shame you're already taken."

Her stomach twisted and flipped as he winked at her.

"And if you know what's good for you, you won't let him so much as touch you as long as I'm around. I don't like to share my things." The smile dropped and his expression turned menacing. "Now… today we're going to do something a little different. Get undressed."

Maureen stuttered, "Un-undressed?"

"You heard me. Hurry it up."

For the dozenth time since she'd told Peter about Ezra, she considered calling Tony and coming clean. Peter would understand, right? And even if Tony saw the videos, he'd never let Peter see them.

"You seem to be thinking. That's never a smart thing to do. Weighing your options? Because I can tell you what those options are. You can do what I say and no one ever has to know anything, or you can run to Tony, cost him a lot of money by cancelling my contract early, and lose Peter forever after I text him these videos." Devin smirks at the change in her expression. "Didn't think I had his number, did you? I have my ways. Now… undress."

Maureen blinked back tears and lifted her shirt over her head. The rest of her clothes followed soon after, creating a small pile in front of her on the floor.

"Very good. Now… go through this week's routine." He gestured to the mat next to her.

She just needed to pretend that she was practicing on her own, in her clothes, back in her room. That was it. She went through the routine, holding each pose for five seconds as they'd been doing when Peter had come with her.

Just before she stepped out of downward facing dog, Devin spoke. "No, stay there. Spread your legs."

Her breath hitched as she processed what was happening. He'd never had sex with her. It was always just touching and oral. But, of course, he knew Tony and the others were away. It was why he felt comfortable making her undress. He could take his time.

"Further."

He was behind her now, hands pressed against her ass. "This is a beautiful sight. Absolutely gorgeous." His hand reached under her, fingers rubbing over her folds.

She could see his pants suddenly at his ankles.

"Please. Please don't." Maureen wasn't sure if he didn't hear her, or just flat out ignored her. For seconds later, he thrust into her.

She let out an ear-piercing scream, to which he responded by laughing.

"Did you know that your loving Tony Stark soundproofed this room? He didn't want your sessions to be interrupted by outside noise. Wasn't that nice of him? Not like it would matter anyway right now, since none of them are here."

Tears fell onto the mat below her as Devin pounded into her mercilessly.

It only stopped when he pulled out and pumped himself briefly to ejaculate on her still-stretched-out back.

**~*~MARVEL~*~ **

Peter stretched as the plane came to a stop on the compound's runway. Though the flight hadn't been long, he was still sore from the mission. The trip had taken longer than expected, four days instead of two, so he was eager to catch up with Maureen. Though they'd texted regularly while he was gone, there were some things he wanted to tell her that he thought were best left out of a text message. Tony had assured him long ago that he'd specifically made the phones for the whole team so that they couldn't be hacked by anyone, but Peter was still pretty cautious.

He practically skipped off the plane and towards the compound, clueless of the shared smirks between Nat, Bruce, and Steve.

He found her curled up on his couch watching _Clue_. Though she had her own couch and TV, she preferred his room. Maureen had told Peter it was because his DVD/Blu Ray collection was better than her own (which was true, given that hers had less than 25 or so movies) but really it was because the pillows on the couch smelled like his cologne.

"Hey, you're back." Her smile shone through her eyes, but it was obvious she was tired.

"Hey! I have so much to fill you in on. Thor ended up joining us while we were there, which I was definitely not expecting. He comes down here so rarely these days. Nat and I did this super cool move where I shot this web and then she launched herself at it and swung off of it onto this old guy! And then Bruce like tossed me across this gorge-thing that had formed in the inside of the building. It was insane."

As exhausted as Maureen was from the abuse she'd received over the last four days, Peter's happiness and excitement was contagious. She smiled deeper, asking questions about the mission and what all took place. Asked what Thor was like. Had Peter describe some of the new gadgets Tony had added into his suit.

"It was kind of weird since Tony is retired now. He was just running point, ya know? Though he did have a couple of things flying around using some remote control. By the way, we still haven't thought of a superhero name for you. I was thinking about it during the fight. Like, what name would be easy to call out really fast?" Peter was in full ramble-mode, which Maureen found simultaneously adorable and fascinating. Adorable, because it was usually about something he had a deep interest in, and fascinating because she had no idea how anyone could talk that fast.

"So what names did you think of?" She asked, tucking her legs under her and propping herself into a sitting position.

Peter bounced onto the couch next to her. "Maybe something like Spark. Pyro-Woman could be fun, but people might get the wrong idea. Wildfire, but that may not be a good idea with the issues they were having with climate change before all those laws got passed. For a laugh I thought of Spontaneous Combustion, but that wouldn't really make much sense, and it's too long. I'd also considered like Kindle, but then everyone is gonna think you work for like Amazon or something? Or Crossfire, but that sort of has a more gun-like connotation, and then I always start thinking of that old game, remember that one? And then I get the commercial jingle stuck in my head, so that would be annoying. Plus I don't know if the makers of the game could sue you?"

Maureen smirked. "I can't say that's my area of expertise. Did you consider anything _indirectly_ related to fire or energy? Maybe not something as… on the nose?"

Peter leaned back against the arm of the couch. "I mean, sure. Animals or mythological creatures related to fire. I would suggest Phoenix, but I'm pretty sure Tony mentioned that he knew of a mutant with that name. There's always a dragon, or there is the ifrit."

"Hm.. ifrit could be cool. I don't know that Dragon suits me." She realized that _Clue_ was still playing, so she paused it, more interested in the conversation than the movie.

The two pulled out their phones and started searching, fully caught up in finding the perfect alias for her.

"Huh. Apparently salamanders are considered elemental and connected to fire. Oh, not the amphibian. Some mythological creature." Maureen read aloud.

"Weird. There's always Hephaestus, the Greek god. Or Vulcan, his Roman counterpart." Peter tapped on a link. "Or, Brigid, the Celtic goddess."

"I feel like it's bad luck taking on the name of a god or goddess." Maureen shook her head.

"Hey, check this out." Peter held his phone up for her to read.

"Hawthorn is a tree that Celts believed to purify and cleanse negativity. It was burned for such purposes."

"I mean, you could make the argument that the burning you do is to rid the world of negativity." Peter pointed to his phone. "How cool would the name Hawthorn be?"

"That does sound pretty epic."

"Then it's official. Hawthorn it is. We should let Tony know just in case he wants to add like an H to your costume." Peter grinned.

"My costume?" Maureen furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "What costume?"

"Oh. Shoot. I mean…" Peter sighed. "It was supposed to be a surprise. Maybe don't let Tony know that you know about it? Now I'm mad at myself for letting it slip."

Tony was making _her_ a costume? Did that mean it would have a bunch of extras like the Spider-man suit? He really thought she was good enough to be an Avenger?

Her mind flashed to Devin's hands, his mouth… How could _she_ be worthy of being an Avenger?

"Reeni, you good?"

It took her a second to realize how hard she'd spaced out. "Huh? Oh. Yeah, I'm good. Sorry, just was surprised is all." She managed a smile.

"Awesome. Let's go tell Tony your new name." Peter stood, excitement lighting his eyes.

"Maybe in a few. He just got home, so he's probably catching up with Pepper and Morgan, ya know?" She needed more time before facing him now that she knew he saw her as a potential Avenger.

"Oh. That's true. Okay, well, how about a game? Video game? Board game? Something else?" He walked toward the entertainment center.

"Maybe not now. I'm kind of tired. I wouldn't be able to focus."

He was crestfallen but understood. He hadn't considered how little she had probably slept in the last few nights. The only reason he had was because of sheer exhaustion from the mission.

"Alright. Wanna finish _Clue_?"

"Yeah, sounds good." She scooted into her normal spot, towards the center, to give him his usual spot on the right.

Peter joined her, settling in comfortably.

Within minutes she was propped against him, as she usually was, his arm draped over her.

It was then that Peter realized how deeply he had missed it. How deeply he had missed _her_. And when had he started to imagine what it would be like to lean down and kiss her?

A part of him smiled at the realization, but then there was the other part which weighed down on him with guilt and dread. Not only had Tony been right, which meant he'd never hear the end of it, but Maureen was his best friend. What would happen if she found out he had feelings for her and had continued to curl up next to her on the couch? Would she feel betrayed, like he was taking advantage of their friendship to be close to her?

He glanced down in an attempt to be subtle. She looked so comfortable. What if she also liked him?

Tim Curry was launching into the first potential solution on the screen, which was typically Peter's favorite part, but his brain couldn't focus. Could Maureen like him? Or would he just end up hurting her more?

**~*~MARVEL~*~ **

Peter sat with Tony in his lab, looking over some final digital sketches of Maureen's suit. He had opted to just fess up to Tony about the slip, only to discover that Tony had planned to talk with her anyway, because of the design.

It was then that Peter remembered what Tony had said about getting her input. He felt so stupid some days.

"I like this one the best. I think it'll move really easily." Peter pointed to the sketch on the right side of the screen. If he hadn't known better, he would've figured the pants were just black leggings, and that was right up Maureen's alley. There was a mustard yellow tunic that ended just beyond the hips, fitted but not overly tight. The final touches were a cropped reddish-orange jacket that added not only a few extras, but also additional armor, and a thin mask that covered her eyes and nose and wound around her head to cover the tips of her ears. The material would allow for Maureen to use any of her fire-related powers, was lightweight so she could levitate with no problems, and had a few manipulations of Tony's so she could make more use of the fire. His favorite extra was the AI that the jacket held. The earpieces were in the mask, right at the tips of her ears. The microphone, in the collar of the jacket.

"I agree. I'm going to start it tomorrow. Should be done in a week or so." Tony swiped the other sketch off the screen and saved the updates to the one selected.

"Um, hey Tony?"

"Yeah, kid?" He sipped at his coffee and swiped a few more notes on the screen.

"At the risk of being told, 'I told you so'… do you think that, um… Maureen would say yes if I asked her out?"

A grin crept up on Tony's face. "I'm going to be good and _not_ say I told you so."

Peter looked a little relieved.

"I'm going to tell FRIDAY to do it instead. FRIDAY?"

"Mr. Stark wants you to know that he told you so, Peter." FRIDAY said, with no hint that the AI caught the humor.

Tony laughed at the expression of annoyance on Peter's face. "Okay, but in all seriousness. Yes, she would absolutely say yes if you asked her out."

"What? How do you know?"

His question was met with _a look_. A look that said, _are you serious right now? _

"No, really. Nat and Steve and Bruce have all teased me about it, but I don't see it. What is it that you all see?"

"You two act like a married couple on their honeymoon. You finish each other's sentences, are constantly with one another, and you both look at each other like the world would be nothing if it weren't for the other person. She likes you. Go for it." Tony placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "I'll even pay. My treat. Whatever you two wanna go do."

He started to walk away and then paused, turning abruptly. "Within reason, that is. I'm not going to give you money to go to like a sex club or something."

"A wh-what? Do those exist? Is that a thing?" Peter's face reminded Tony that he needed to get tomatoes for dinner that evening.

"As far as you know, it's not a thing."

Tony left him there, still red and stuttering.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

The only problem with enhanced hearing: the thudding that you can hear in your ears when your heart is pounding from nervousness? Even louder.

Peter had invited Maureen up to his favorite spot on the compound roof for a small meteor shower. Tony had loaned him his best telescope, because of course Tony had multiple telescopes, and Peter had brought an overstuffed quilt. He'd considered champagne, but seeing as how neither of them really drank, thought it would be a bit much.

The weather was perfect, and Peter was still in awe over how many stars he could see here at the compound versus back in the city.

Most of the team was gone at the moment, all on various trips either business or personal. Pepper had taken Morgan to see extended family, and Tony had 'realized' he had a business dinner in the city, so he was staying at Stark Tower for the night.

The lack of people meant all of the lights in the compound were off, creating the perfect setting for stargazing.

Maureen sighed contentedly from where she lied on the quilt, staring up at the night sky. For a few minutes, she was able to shove aside the reminders of Devin. That day's session had sent her sobbing to her room for a couple of hours after with how rough he had been. The few days the entire team had been gone had made him bold. Now he didn't wait for such opportunities; he simply did whatever he wanted with her, knowing no one would disturb them.

But now she was with Peter, enjoying the quiet and finally feeling safe next to him.

"Oh, look, the shower is starting!" Maureen pointed to their right, where two streaks flew across the sky.

Peter used that as his opportunity to drape an arm around her, like he was moving to see better.

Maureen pressed in closer to him, used to his warmth.

The world dropped away as they watched the show above them. Light cascading downward, wishes streaming over the sky.

"Thank you for suggesting this. I've never seen a meteor shower before." She turned her head to look at Peter, whose face was just above her own.

"Yeah," he breathed. "No problem."

In his head he heard Tony: _go for it! _

Before he could think about it, he closed the gap between them and gently pressed his lips to hers.

Maureen's mind raced. Peter was kissing her? Peter was kissing _her!_ He felt the same way? She pressed her lips back to his, returning the kiss.

Peter liked _her_. _Peter_ liked _her_. She tried to wrap her brain around it, but got lost in the kiss.

The kiss came to a slow, natural end and she found herself looking up into his brown eyes.

"Hey," she whispered. Hey? Seriously? What the hell was wrong with her?

"Hey." His smile was small, but genuine.

But then there was Devin's voice. …_And if you know what's good for you, you won't let him so much as touch you as long as I'm around. I don't like to share my things… _

Maureen pushed herself up off of the quilt. "I…w-we shouldn't do this."

The smile fell from Peter's face. "What? What do you mean?"

He actually returned her feelings. But he shouldn't. He shouldn't like her, because what would Devin do if he knew? If somehow he figured it out?

"This is a bad idea. We're friends. We…we should just stay friends." Maureen paced on the roof.

"I thought about that too, but… Maureen, if you like me, then… we could do this. We can make this happen."

She looked over at him and knew. She knew the only thing she could do. She just wasn't sure she could do it though. Who would it hurt more?

Maureen breathed deeply. "I don't have feelings for you, Peter. I'm sorry." As soon as she said it, she looked down at the cement of the rooftop. She couldn't look at him. She would crumble if she did.

"Oh." His voice was so soft. So hurt.

"Then _I'm _sorry. I shouldn't have…" he trailed off. "I shouldn't have kissed you." But hadn't she kissed back? He wanted to throw up.

"It's okay. It's… it's alright." Maureen couldn't cry. She just couldn't.

She finally gave in and looked up. Peter was gone, along with the last of her hope.

Author Note: The information on Hawthorn trees was taken from .


	7. Chapter 7

Trigger Warnings:

Brief memories of childhood sexual abuse

Mentions of rough non-con sex

Descriptions of sexual assault

When she woke the next morning, Peter was gone.

She couldn't blame him, really. As much as she didn't want him to leave, as much as she didn't want him to hate her, she knew Devin had too much to hold over her. It was safer this way.

She trudged to yoga, trying desperately not to cry, or throw up.

While she knew she'd made the right decision, she didn't know how she was going to survive now.

**~*~MARVEL~*~  
**

Tony was calling.

He'd already ignored the five texts that Tony had sent. He should probably answer.

His finger hovered over the phone, hesitating. He didn't really want to talk about it, but he had a feeling if he didn't, Tony would pull out his Iron Man suit just to fly up to the Tower.

"Hey, Tony."

"Wanna explain why I'm back at the compound, where I thought I would find you spending time with your new girlfriend, but instead of being here, you're in the city?"

"Because she's not my new girlfriend. Nor will she be my new girlfriend."

"Oh, kid. Maybe she just needs time. She has been through a lot in the last 2 and a half months…"

"Time isn't going to change anything, Tony. She told me she doesn't have any feelings for me."

Tony frowned. There was no way she didn't have feelings for Peter. But why lie? "Fill me in on what took place."

Peter summarized the evening. The quilt, the cuddling, the perfect night sky.

"After the meteor shower started, everything was just so perfect, so I kissed her." He sighed, before raising his voice in frustration. "But Tony, what I don't get… is that she kissed me back! Not just a quick thing. We kissed for a minute or so. It wasn't until a few seconds after it ended that she jumped up and then started saying that we shouldn't ruin our friendship! I told her we would make it work, because of how we felt, but then she said…" His voice drops and Tony could hear the anguish. "Then she said she didn't have feelings for me."

"Why kiss you for so long if she doesn't have feelings for you?" Tony wondered aloud.

"I don't know, Tony, maybe she was caught up in the moment. All I know is I'm going to hang here for a little while."

"So you don't want to still be friends with her? You two are basically one person at this point."

"I don't know, maybe in a little while. I just need some space for a little bit. It's weird right now," Peter admitted. "I'm going to give it like a week and then we'll see."

"Let me know if you need anything, Underoos."

"Thanks, Tony."

Tony hung up, considering everything he knew. Something wasn't right, and he really hoped he could figure out what it was. Both his kid and Maureen were clearly head over their heels for each other, and they deserved happiness.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

Two days. It had been two days with no Peter. Thankfully, one of those days was not a scheduled yoga session. But today, the third day without Peter, was.

She'd thought the first day going back to yoga without Peter's friendship would be the worst. But somehow she was wrong.

Maureen limped out of the yoga studio, or as she'd come to think of it, her torture chamber. She was sure she would have bruises along her thighs. Devin had held her so tightly while he had pounded into her.

How much longer until she snapped? Maybe if she told Tony that she didn't want to do yoga anymore, or that she didn't need it anymore? Would Peter accept her if she confessed her feelings for him? Would he have gotten over her by then?

She showered, her tears camouflaged by the steaming water as she desperately tried to wash away the echo of Devin's hands on her body.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

Peter swung through the streets, enjoying the sunlight. It had been a while since he'd patrolled during the day. It had been quiet so far. He'd helped reunite a lost child with his mother, and he'd given a homeless man a hundred dollars. Now that he had merchandise money coming in, Peter liked to keep some money on him to hand out on patrols. It wasn't a lot, because he was still saving most of the money, but it made him feel like he was able to make some difference.

It was about halfway through his patrol that he faltered. He was hanging out on one of his favorite corners, close to Mr. Delmar's, but with a better view.

A little boy had run ahead of his mother, dodging around people on the sidewalk.

"Skip! Skip, get back here!"

In his mind, he saw a different person named Skip. Young, blonde, strong. A shudder raced down Peter's spine and it took all of him not to tear his mask off in broad daylight on a busy street corner.

He flipped over onto the rooftop and crouched against the ledge, drawing into himself as close as he could get.

All he wanted to do was call Maureen. She would understand. She would just talk with him, help distract him or redirect him.

But he couldn't even do that now. He'd ruined their friendship. It was over, and he had no one to blame but himself.

**~*~MARVEL~*~  
**

Nat strolled into the training room just after Maureen. It was rare that she was late, but Maureen didn't mind. It gave her a moment to sit alone in the room, to at least try to center herself.

"Okay, let's get started." Nat's energy filled the room, commanding, but somehow comforting. Maureen wondered, not for the first time, how she did it.

Nat had been teaching her how to get out of bindings, like rope or handcuffs, if she were ever kidnapped or captured. Last week, at their last lesson, Maureen had felt confident and in control. She mused at how only one thing had changed, but it felt like everything was off balance. Even with what she had been suffering, she had managed. But now?

"It'll be a little tighter today. Just remember the techniques we've been over." Natasha was firm but reassuring.

Maureen breathed deeply and set to work undoing the thick rope that held her hands tied in front of her. It was only after a second that she realized she'd already broken rule one: always be prepared.

Somewhere on Nat, at that very second, was some sort of tool that would allow her to escape from the ropes, even something as simple as a cord or shoelace.

But Maureen had forgotten anything that would help. It was just her in her yoga pants and tank top. Not even a hairpin on her head.

She flexed her hands, drawing her wrists apart to create slack, but Nat hadn't been kidding. The ropes were definitely tighter today. No slack could be bought.

The more she worked the rope, the tighter it felt, and the more panicked she became.

Breathing became harder as she moved, trying to slip her hands out of the ties.

It wasn't until Nat was in front of her, cutting the ropes off, that she knew she was crying.

"Maureen. Look at me. It's okay. You're in the training room. You're safe." Nat's voice was calming, and steady.

Nat was blurry through the tears that kept flooding her eyes. She grabbed at her knees and drew them close to her chest.

The two women sat on the floor of the training room, one crying softly, the other silent, but waiting.

When Maureen's tears dwindled, Nat reached out a hand, which Maureen accepted gratefully.

"It fades. It doesn't feel like it, but it does." Nat studied the girl and saw herself reflecting back in Maureen's eyes.

"But what about everything else? What about everything you did wrong while it's still there? Everything that is irreparable?"

"I wish I could tell you that nothing is irreparable, but I think we both know that would be a lie. But I can tell you that what we see as irreparable may not be as such." The older woman paused. "If this has anything to do with Peter, it's not irreparable. Not even close."

Maureen's heart skipped a beat. She wanted to believe it was true, but how could she? Devin owned her.

"Is there something I can do to help?" Nat offered.

There was a glimmer. Just for a moment. She would tell Natasha. Natasha would go to Tony, or even better, she would just take out Devin entirely.

Could she ask that of Nat?

"No, I'm okay." Maureen shook her head and played with the hem of her shirt.

"Okay. How about we just kick some shit today?" Nat nodded towards the punching bags.

Maureen chuckled in spite of herself. "Yeah. Sounds good."

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

It was another five days before Peter finally returned to the compound, and only because Tony had told him he needed to come back for training and an update to Karen.

Tony greeted him upon his arrival.

"You look like shit, Underoos."

"Gee, thanks, Tony." Normally Peter would've laughed and thrown a witty remark back at Tony. But today he just wilted further.

Tony was taken aback. What had happened in the week Peter had been gone? Was he that broken up over Maureen?

"Come to the lab with me."

"Right now? Can't I go drop my stuff off?" Peter lifted his overnight bag.

"You'll live." Tony walked on, knowing that Peter would cave and follow him.

Neither spoke again until they'd reached the empty lab. "Okay, what's up?"

"Nothing is up. I'm just tired." Peter brushed his fingers back through his hair.

"How much sleep did you get this week?" Tony settled into his chair and grabbed his coffee mug.

Peter snorted. "Probably about the same as you."

Tony narrowed his eyes. "Hey, I didn't bring you down here to catch that teenage attitude I love so much."

The teen hero looked sheepish. "Sorry. I don't really know. Not much, I don't think."

"Nightmares?"

Peter's avoided Tony's gaze. Though Tony knew about the nightmares, it was still embarrassing that he was an Avenger who couldn't sleep because he was afraid of what his brain would create. He gave Tony a slight nod.

"Thanos, May, Ben, or Skip?"

"Little bit of columns A, B and D. Fairly heavy on column D, actually. Plus a lot of column E."

"E?" Tony ran through the possibilities in his head.

"Maureen." Those were new. Nightmares that she was falling and he couldn't save her. Each time he could see someone holding her on the edge of a building. He would start running and then leaping, his arm stretched out, but something would happen. Either his web shooter would fail and he would have to grab a nearby building while she was left to her own devices, or his body would inch across the gap as he watched her fall at a tremendous speed towards the ground. Sometimes he did catch her, but then inexplicably he would just let go. He woke just before she hit the ground each time.

"Ah." Tony sipped at the coffee and made a face. Cold. "Lemme guess. She's in trouble and you can't save her?"

"H-how did you know?"

"Kid, I have a wife and a daughter. And now, I also have a son." He gave him a pointed look. "It's always there. The idea that they'll be in trouble and I will be powerless. Every superhero goes through it. Hell, some people who aren't superheroes go through it."

"Does it ever go away?" Peter whispered.

"Not really, unfortunately. But it can lessen. You have the extra benefit of being in love with another person with superpowers. She can take care of herself."

"I'm not…_in love_ with her. I can't be in love with someone who has no romantic feelings for me."

"Fine. You have the benefit of worrying about someone else with superpowers. There, is that better?" Tony rolled his eyes.

"I just want to be over it all. I want to be able to move on."

Tony knew they weren't talking about the nightmares anymore. "In due time, kiddo. In due time."

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

Peter managed to avoid seeing Maureen until dinner. That night was a small gathering: Tony, Pepper, Morgan, Maureen, and Peter.

They sat together at the large dining room table attempting to make small talk. Tony, Pepper, and Morgan did most of the talking, to the relief of Maureen and Peter. Morgan, who loved both Peter and Maureen, told them this long story about the kids in the summer camp she was attending, and how they'd each taken on the role of a different superhero to play as during free time.

"They all wanted me to be Iron Man, cuz they know who my dad is, but… well, no offense, Dad, but I told them I was going to be a new superhero. One they didn't know about yet."

Tony smirked, "So you don't wanna be like your old man?"

Morgan rolled her eyes in her I'm-seven-but-somehow-seem-like-I'm-13 way. "Like, Iron Man is cool and all, but that suit is huuuuge. I'd rather be more comfortable, and have powers of my own. So I told them I want to be Hawthorn."

All eyes went to Maureen, who almost dropped her fork. "You want to be…me?"

Morgan shoved a fork full of chicken into her mouth. "Absolutely! Who wouldn't want the power to levitate and use fire? That's just awesome!"

Pepper scolded her daughter, "Don't talk with your mouth full."

"Sorry, mom." Her voice was muffled between bites of chicken.

Tony chuckled, and then coughed to hide the laugh as Pepper gave him a dirty look.

Maureen cut a small piece of chicken, and hoped she wasn't blushing too much. Morgan wanted to be like her. Could she live up to that? Was she even a good role model with everything that she was allowing to happen to her?

Throughout the dinner, Peter and Maureen found that they had to speak to each other, which wasn't so bad, as it was always about something mundane, such as "would you pass the potatoes, please?"

Tony and Pepper exchanged several glances throughout the meal, most of which either Peter or Maureen took note.

By the end of the meal, both teens excused themselves, thoroughly exhausted.

That night, Peter was still awake when he heard Maureen calling out in her sleep.

"Don't show him. Please. Please."

Don't show him? What was she dreaming about? He'd never heard her say that before.

He had both feet on the floor when he remembered. Remembered that he shouldn't go over there. Couldn't go over there.

Reluctantly, he swung his legs back under the covers, his heart wrenching at each whimper he heard from the room next door.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

Training came too soon the next day. Peter arrived a few minutes early, dreading being in close proximity to Maureen for so long. Every time he passed her in the hall his heart squeezed in his chest, slowly draining the life out of him. He missed her so desperately, but he was still so upset.

He'd reached the anger stage of grief. Now all he could think about was how she'd acted like she'd liked him. How everyone swore that she did. How she'd kissed him back, and then decided she didn't want him.

So he stood in the training room, wanting the day to already be over. He knew he didn't have it in him to show open animosity to his former friend, but it was going to be difficult to stay level-headed.

Nat blew into the room, her force like a hurricane. "Where's Maureen?" She glanced at her watch, which showed that training should have started two minutes before.

Peter shrugged. Who cared? She shouldn't have been late. How like her to be late to training that Nat was providing for free out of the kindness of her heart.

Nat swiped through some things on her phone. "Looks like she should've gotten out of yoga like ten minutes ago. Will you please go check to see if they're done?"

There was no saying 'no' to Natasha. Everyone knew that. Even if Peter didn't want to go searching for Maureen.

"Sure. I'll be right back."

Peter left the training room and took the stairs up one floor to the yoga studio. The studio was tucked in the corner of the floor, next to the oversized gym where some of the others spent a lot of their time.

He had just passed the gym, when he thought he heard something. His ears strained to listen, his pace slowing to lessen the sound of his footsteps.

It wasn't until he was just outside the door that he could hear it. Peter knew the room was soundproofed, and experience told him the only reason he heard it was because of his powers.

Sobbing. Pleading.

And it was most definitely Maureen.

Peter burst into the studio, his heart racing.

Devin stared in shock before he tripped over himself in his attempts to get away from Maureen. But it was too late. Peter had seen and heard everything.

He had seen Maureen, her shirt off, back to him, holding Devin's cock in her hands, stroking it. He had seen her rise up on her knees to take him into her mouth.

He had heard her pleading with him not to make her. He had heard her sobs as she had risen on her knees.

Rage coursed through him, and for a strange moment he wondered if this was what Maureen felt when she pulled fire from her veins.

"Get the fuck away from her!" Peter exploded.

Devin hastened to pull his pants back on, and then he was gone, running from the room and out into the compound.

Peter almost ran after him but decided at the last second that Maureen needed him more.

She'd managed to pull her tank top back over her head in the scuffle, her sports bra still on the floor next to her.

"P-Peter, I…I can explain."

He knelt beside her. "There's nothing to explain, Reen." He whispered. "Are you okay? That's… that's a dumb question. We need to get you to Med and have Bruce or Dr. Cho check you out. I need to go find Tony…"

"No!" Her shout surprised Peter.

"What? Why not?" He took in the tear stains down her face, the mussed hair and lopsided shirt.

"H-he has videos. I can't… I can't let them get out."

And suddenly it clicked. "How long has this been going on?"

"Since about the fourth session." It's capped with a sniffle, and a sob.

"The f-fourth… that's like five or six weeks!"

Maureen flinched at his voice. "I'm sorry."

Peter scooted a little closer and tried to relax his body so she didn't pick up on how tense he actually was. "There is literally nothing you should apologize for, Maureen. Nothing." He put his head in his hands, thinking. "That's why you wanted me to come to the sessions." The guilt rose in his throat like vomit. She had been trying to protect herself, and he had failed her. He had left.

"Please. Please talk to Tony." He just needed to convince her. Make her understand Tony can fix it.

"I-I'm…" The tears choked her.

"You're afraid?" He finished for her.

"He's done so much for me. He paid so much money for Devin. I've been here like two months and I've already screwed up so badly. I've already had a massive panic attack in front of him. Made him have to save me from that. Now I've wasted his money on this instructor. He's going to give me back to the government. What if they do experiments on me? I've heard these horror stories of Inhumans and Mutants…"

"Reeni. It's okay. Tony isn't going to make you leave. And he doesn't care about the panic attack. I've had dozens in front of him. _He's_ had panic attacks. It's alright." Peter tried to keep his voice calm, but it was difficult to be insistent and calm simultaneously.

"Please don't hate me."

His heart shattered. "I don't hate you. Reeni, you're my best friend. I could never hate you."

Her eyes had been focused on the floor throughout their conversation. But now she looked up at him, meeting his eyes with her own. He didn't hate her. He'd even called her his best friend.

Somewhere in Queens, Ned was distraught, and didn't know why. But Peter knew it was okay. He could have two best friends.

She nodded. "Okay."

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay. FRIDAY!"

"Yes, Peter?"

"Tell Tony to come to the yoga studio ASAP. Tell him it's urgent."

"Alerting him now."

"I thought FRIDAY didn't have access in here?" If she didn't think about what she was about to fess up to Tony, it wouldn't be real.

"FRIDAY is anywhere in the compound. Devin just didn't have his voice registered for use. FRIDAY wouldn't have responded," Peter explained.

"Oh." Her body began to tingle, and she knew it was coming. Once more, she tried to head it off. "How was the city?"

Peter gave a shrug, but then he heard Maureen's breathing change and knew she was headed for a panic attack.

"Hey, Reeni. Did you ever watch the anime _Sailor Moon_?"

She shook her head, breathing still rapid.

"There's a character that when the U.S. translated it for the first time in the 90s, her name was Rini. It sounds just like yours. She was the daughter of Sailor Moon herself. Cool, huh?"

A quick nod. Breathing still staccato.

"What's Maureen mean, anyway?" Maybe he needed to get her to talk.

"Either 'of the sea' or 'bitter.' I always liked the first one better."

Peter laughed, hoping it would help. "I don't think the second one suits you. But that's pretty cool… the 'of the sea' one. And how weird is it that your power is fire, but your name means you're from the sea? How strong must you be to create fire from water?"

It seemed to be working. Her breathing was slowing down.

But in ran Tony. "What's wrong?"

Maureen fell apart.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

It had taken both Peter and Tony, but they managed to calm Maureen down and end her panic attack. Heart still pounding, Peter had insisted they go to the Med Bay before saying any more to Tony, who at that point was still lost as to what had happened.

Maureen hunched over the side of the Med Bay exam table, Peter grasping her hand tightly.

"Okay, now that we're here and Dr. Cho is on standby, could someone _please_ fill me in?" Tony was more scared than he was angry, but he knew his tone had been too harsh when Maureen trembled and closed her eyes. "Sorry. Didn't mean to sound pissed. I just… need to know what's happening." He'd seen the sports bra on the floor, and had an inkling, but was hoping that it was somehow unconnected.

"Reeni?" Peter whispered, trying to coax her into speaking.

She took a couple of deep breaths and began, "Devin has been… assaulting me."

Tony's stomach lurched. "How so?"

"It started out as just touching…and then it escalated. He would…make me give him hand jobs or blows jobs, or he would make me do stuff to myself while he watched. It wasn't until that week with the mission, with you all gone… that he started making me have sex with him."

Peter and Tony looked up at each other, their expressions those of horror.

"Has he been doing this the whole time?" Tony's voice was venomous. It reminded Peter of Tony's demeanor during his initial conversation about Skip.

"Since about the fourth session. After that point, we only ever did yoga when Peter joined the session. If it was just me, it was just…" She trailed off.

"Maureen, I'm not blaming you, because it's definitely not your fault…but why not come to me about it?"

"At first Devin would say that you had a contract with him and you'd already paid him a lot of money in advance, so if I said I didn't want to do yoga anymore, I would cost you a lot of money. And he said if I tried to claim he was doing anything that no one would believe me."

"You said 'at first.' What changed? Why not say anything later?" Tony raised an eyebrow.

She opened her mouth to answer but couldn't form the words. How had she let it get this bad?

Peter answered for her, his voice low, "He has videos. He's threatened her with them."

Anger burned through Tony. "Where are the videos?"

"His phone," rasped Maureen.

Tony nodded. "Alright. We are pressing charges on this asshole. I will personally see to it he loses everything he holds dear. I'll be back in a few. In the meantime, Maureen, I need you to let Dr. Cho look you over. I asked her to come in especially for you." He didn't say the rest of that sentence: because I know you don't want any guy touching you right now, so I couldn't ask Bruce to do it.

Maureen squeezed Peter's hand even tighter. "Do I really need to?"

Peter leaned down and stroked her hair lightly. "Please? It's really important." He vividly remembered a much smaller version of himself in this same position. Asking May if he really needed to be checked out by a stranger. If he could just give a statement and walk away. "I won't leave if you don't want me to. Or I'll wait outside. Or I'll wait on the roof. Whatever you want."

She forced a weak smile. "Stay?"

He settled into the chair next to her, his fingers still threaded through hers. "Alright. Let's do this."

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

After a rape kit had been performed, bloodwork and pictures taken, and questions answered, Maureen was allowed to leave the Med Bay and go back to her room.

But as they passed Peter's room, she stopped.

"Um, could I…"

Peter followed her gaze to his door. "Oh. Yeah, come on." He ignored the pang in his chest and led her into the room.

"Did you want to watch a movie?"

She nodded, the exhaustion evident on her face.

"Done. Name the movie."

She shrugged. "Something funny."

"Funny. I think I can do that, sure."

Maureen settled into her spot on Peter's couch, too tired to appreciate how much she'd missed it. Within seconds, Peter had grabbed a DVD, slipped it into the player, and then taken his spot on the couch.

The pair sunk into each other as if nothing had changed.

**~*~MARVEL~*~MARVEL~*~**

Author Note: I wasn't sure if Morgan Stark was four or five at the end of Endgame (since I don't recall them confirming that Pepper was actually pregnant during Infinity War or if she got pregnant later), but I found a couple of online mentions where they said she was five, so that's what I'm going with. Since this takes place two years after Endgame, Morgan is seven in this fanfic. 😊


	8. Chapter 8

Author Note: Timeline… Maureen was brought to the Avengers compound in the third week of May, making it now the first week of July. I believe my math is correct on here – please correct me if I'm wrong. I'm simultaneously working on a novel and working my summer jobs (I'm a teacher) so my brain uses this as an easy relaxation, so I haven't been strictly considering time. Also because I kept changing it in drafts.

Trigger warnings:

Sexual blackmail

Non-con elements

Suicidal ideation

The movie was over, but Maureen had fallen asleep on Peter's chest, so he grabbed the remote and flipped over to Netflix, turning the volume down so he wouldn't disturb her.

Peter's phone buzzed. A text from an unfamiliar number popped up on his lock screen. He pushed his thumbprint down to open the phone and clicked on the text. As soon as the text opened, a video started playing.

It took him a few seconds to realize what was happening, what was playing in front of him on his screen.

Maureen. Shirtless, touching both herself and an unseen man's penis. The camera was clearly being held by the man from above. He was on his knees, with Maureen lying on her back as her hands ran over her chest and down… Peter almost dropped his phone trying to end the video.

He needed to get the video to Tony for evidence.

Peter clicked the side of his phone so the screen would disappear, but it took him a few tries because he was shaking too badly.

Did he tell Maureen he had the video? Would it hurt her more knowing he had it, or would it hurt her more if he just gave it to Tony and didn't mention it?

Fuck.

As he debated, another text came through from the same number. Hesitantly, Peter opened the text, expecting another video.

But this time it was a message.

_There are plenty more of these. Some even more explicit. Your girl is one dirty slut. The Blue Crab Tavern at eleven pm. Don't be late. Come alone or else I post these all over the Internet. Think her fragile mind could handle that right now?_

So Devin wanted to meet. But why? Was he going to offer a trade? Ask for money in exchange for the videos? But if he wanted money, wouldn't he be contacting Tony?

Peter knew he should tell Tony. He knew he should tell Maureen too. But… what if they insisted on getting the cops involved, or coming with him?

Maureen snored softly, cradled against his side.

He should've just gone with her to the yoga sessions. He never should have left. Never should have admitted his feelings.

This was his fault. And he was going to fix it.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

It was useful being Spider-man when you need to sneak out of a heavily secured compound. It was also useful when the AI believed you when you just said "you needed to go for a quick drive to clear your head."

Peter saw him as soon as he pulled up to the tavern. Devin was waiting outside, glancing every few seconds at his watch. He clearly had never blackmailed anyone before.

"I figured you'd be inside." Peter gestured to the doors.

"I forgot you weren't 21. You wouldn't be able to get in past seven." Devin shrugged.

Had Peter not been thinking about what Devin had in his possession, he would have laughed at how bad Devin was at this.

Devin walked to the side of the building, motioning for Peter to follow.

"Alright, talk. What do you want?" Peter crossed his arms over his chest.

"Tell Stark to drop the charges. And then I'll get rid of all of the videos and Maureen never sees me again."

"You think I can get Tony to drop charges against you for _raping_ _my best friend?_"

"You can talk Tony Stark into anything. You're his son. He'd do anything for you." Devin smirked. "Besides, there's no proof. It's her word against mine."

"No proof? What about all those videos that you're currently holding over her head?" Peter raged.

"As far as anyone watching those videos can tell, it's consensual. And she's 18, so it's legal. Those expressions of fear on her face? Easy – she liked being dominated, but we were still…easing into it."

Peter's stomach dropped.

"So, have Stark drop the charges and forget who I am. Lose my number, whole nine." Devin lifted up his phone. "This is currently the only device that holds all of the videos. Minus, of course, the one video I sent you. Once my lawyer informs me of the dropped charges, I'll have him send Tony this phone. What you do with it from there is _your _business." He winked at Peter, who felt suddenly very ill.

Devin shrugged. "If not… those videos will be on the Internet faster than you can say Iron Man. You have 48 hours to drop the charges."

With that, he left Peter standing there, leaning against the side of the tavern with regret and fear pulsing through him.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

Tony was still in his lab, as usual. It was only midnight, after all.

"Hey, kid. What's wrong? FRIDAY said you went for a quick drive?" Tony was working on the AI for Maureen's suit.

"FRIDAY, is Maureen still asleep?"

"Yes, Peter, at the moment Maureen's vitals are normal. She is asleep in your bed."

Tony raised his eyebrows at his son.

"Oh, bite me. We have bigger issues. Devin wants you to drop the charges. He's planning on blackmailing Maureen."

"And you know this…how?" Tony put his tools down onto the desk and stood.

"Okay, so don't be mad…"

Tony glared.

"I said _don't be_ mad. Devin texted me earlier and told me to meet him at that tavern a couple miles from here."

"And you didn't think to tell Maureen or me about this?"

"I mean… I did. But he said he would put the videos on the Internet if I didn't come alone." Peter glanced down at his shoes, hoping Tony would understand. "I didn't want her to get hurt by him again."

Tony sighed. His kid's kindness would forever be his downfall. "Alright. Go on."

"He says you have 48 hours to tell your lawyer that you want to drop the charges, or he's going to post all of the videos online."

Tony narrowed his eyes. "But why publish evidence against yourself?"

"That's the thing… as far as we can tell in the videos… Maureen wanted to do all of that stuff. She's not like, saying no or anything. So it looks consensual. And she's 18."

"So the most we could get him on his the revenge porn law, for posting the videos without her permission. And that's… what like a year in jail? He deserves twenty years for hurting her." Tony raked his fingers through his hair. "Fuck."

"Tony…he sent me one of the videos. I don't know what to do. Do I tell Maureen?"

"Did you watch it?"

"Well…Like I watched the first ten or so seconds when he first sent it. But when he left after our meeting, I clicked into it just so I could listen. I wanted to see if I could hear her say no or anything like it at any point. She didn't, so then I was thinking… well maybe she was like shaking her head…"

"Oh, kid. You didn't. Tell me you didn't."

Peter gulped. "I just wanted to fix it. But that meant I had to watch it to see… to see if there was any signal, any indication that she was being coerced."

Tony sighed. "Oh, Underoos. Do you think she'd be angrier knowing you saw it, or angrier that you didn't tell her you saw it?"

"Probably the latter, but she'd still be upset that I saw it, you know? Like, it sucks either way. How do you tell your best friend you watched one of the videos her abuser took of her? How do you broach that conversation?"

"Well you could always wait until she just happens to overhear you." Maureen's voice made both men jump.

She stood just outside the stairwell in her pajamas and bare feet, arms crossed and anger in her eyes.

"Reeni, I…" Peter wasn't sure what to say that would make it better.

"How could you? How could you _watch it_? And then stand here and debate whether I should know like I'm some child? I'm_ older_ than _you_, Peter! Who the fuck gave you the right to decide what I do or don't know about? And who the fuck told you it was okay to watch that video?" She was yelling by then, her anger echoing off the lab walls. Peter was almost certain that he saw some sparks sizzle off her fingers as she yelled.

"I swear I didn't mean to…" As soon as it was out of his mouth, he knew it was the wrong thing to say.

"You _accidentally_ watched a video of me? How the fuck does that work, Peter?" Tears glistened on her cheeks. "So tell me, _Peter_, did you like the video? Did it turn you on? Did you get off to it? Because if that one didn't do it for you, there are plenty of others Devin could send. I'm sure he had me do _something_ that strikes your fancy! If not, I'm sure Devin would be happy to use me to make additional videos for you!"

Peter was crying by now. He wasn't sure if he was crying because he was angry at himself, because he'd hurt Maureen, or because he knew there was no going back. Maybe it was a mix of all of those things.

"I thought Devin hurt me the worst. I thought he'd ruined everything. He manipulated me, abused me, raped me… He even threatened you. Told me I belonged to him. I had to pretend I didn't have feelings for you so you would leave. So you wouldn't want to be with me."

Peter's heart leapt into his throat. She'd had feelings for him? She was protecting him?

"But a guy working in this building? How easy would it have been for him to really do his research and find out that you were Spider-man? I knew he already had his suspicions. The way he looked at you in yoga, how you so obviously tried to mess up poses we both knew you could do? He wasn't stupid. He knew it was on purpose. So I pushed you away. I gave up my hopes of being with you. And I thought in that moment that I had lost _everything_."

She was silent for a minute, taking in the tears on Peter's face as her own streamed down her cheeks, falling to the floor at her feet.

"But who knew I was wrong. Because here… this moment. This is it. Now we're irreparable."

She turned on her heel and fled up the stairs, desperate to be alone.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

Tony put an arm around Peter's shoulder. "She will forgive you. Just give her time. And maybe also give her a few dozen flowers, some candy, and tickets to the theater."

Peter was empty. She had returned his feelings. She had wanted him. She had tried to protect him. And he had fucked it all over.

"What have I done?" he whispered in horror. "How could I fuck up this badly?"

"Language!" He halted himself. When had he started sounding like Cap? "One mission with Deadpool and you start dropping f-bombs. You can't hang out with him anymore." Tony squeezed Peter into him. "It'll be okay. It doesn't feel like it. But it will be."

Peter wiped the tears off his cheeks. "We have to fix this."

"Already considering it." Tony let his arm drop as he ventured over to his computers. "FRIDAY, I need you to hack into this phone." He tapped Devin's contact information in his phone and typed it into the mainframe for the AI.

"What needs to be done to the phone, Mr. Stark?" FRIDAY answered, as if the AI had somehow expected this.

"Peter, give me your phone. I need the video."

"But I need to delete it. Maureen doesn't deserve anyone else looking at it."

"I don't need to look at it. I need to upload it for FRIDAY so he has facial recognition," Tony reassured Peter.

Peter hesitated. "And you're sure it won't be seen by anyone else?"

"Only if you count my AI as 'anyone else.'"

"I promise I won't repeat any details of the video, Peter." FRIDAY promised.

"An AI just promised to keep the details of an explicit video to itself. What world am I even living in?" Peter shook his head and opened to the text message. In his mind he could see the images of the video: Maureen being made to masturbate, close ups of her clit as he made her rub herself, her mouth around Devin's cock, Devin's ejaculating onto her face. His almost-18-year-old body had been at war with itself. He was disgusted that she was being forced to do these acts, but her body was so gorgeous to behold. He just wished that instead it had been willing, and with him instead.

He'd never hated himself as much as he did just then.

"So FRIDAY is going to use this video to recognize the other videos on Devin's phone?" He handed his phone to Tony.

"That's the idea. If all else fails, I'll just delete everything from his phone." Tony shrugged.

"You can do that?"

"Never done it before, but hey, first time for everything, right?" Tony was busy typing several commands and formulas into the computer. "Okay, we've identified a location for his phone, about 20 minutes from here. That's the easy part, though."

"How long do you think it will take to hack in and delete it all?" Peter shifted his weight between his right foot and left foot, suddenly feeling antsy.

"I'm hoping a few hours, but likely it could be eight hours or so. Just depends on his phone. How updated it is, etc. If it's a Stark phone, that'll be easy. Three hours tops."

"It definitely wasn't a Stark phone. I'm not sure offhand what the brand was though." Peter shook his head. "It did look on the newer side, though."

"That could prove to be an issue. But regardless, it should work. It'll just take a while." Tony typed in a few more commands and the algorithm started to move incrementally faster.

"What do I do now?"

Tony paused over the keyboard to look at his son. "Go talk to her."

Peter felt like a shell. He knew on some level that he was still there, in the lab, but he was just a body. He didn't feel real.

"I don't think she's going to want to talk to me, Tony."

"Never hurts to try."

Peter scoffed. It could absolutely hurt to try. He could make things even worse than they already were. Should he tell her how he had to fight a boner watching the video, seeing her body touched just as he wanted to touch her? Should he explain the shame he felt knowing she had been assaulted, forced to perform for the camera? Should he confess that he never saw her shake her head even once, so he knew Devin was probably right when it came to the videos.

Peter felt like a dick. And he had no idea how to make it right.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

Maureen sat on the edge of the roof. The last time she'd been up here, Peter had confessed his feelings to her. And she had lied to him. Turned him away. Made him hate her.

Her tears had stopped now. Likely they'd dried up by then.

She kept picturing Peter watching the video, disgusted at her body and at her for allowing those things to happen to her.

Devin had won. She had nowhere to go now. She couldn't stay here. Peter would be disgusted with her. Tony would go along with whatever Peter wanted. The other team members would go along with what Tony wanted.

There was nothing left.

She gazed down at the ground, several stories below her. Would a fall like that kill her, she wondered? Would it be quick, or would she be alive for a while, suffering?

Maureen let out a bitter laugh. Who was she kidding? The suffering she would do down there would be no match for her current suffering.

She leaned forward, considering. But in the end she was a coward, too afraid to make a decision she should've made a while ago.

From behind her, she heard someone clear their throat. It wasn't hard to guess who it was.

"I don't want to talk, Peter." She continued staring at the pavement below.

"I, um…I am so unbelievably, incredibly sorry for watching the video," Peter said. "I can't even begin to imagine what you're feeling right now. And so, I'm sorry."

Maureen sighed. She was sure he was sorry. It meant having the disgusting image of her stuck in his mind forever. He may have been crazy enough to confess his feelings for her before, but how long would that have lasted once he really saw her?

How many times had Devin said it? How many times had Ezra said it? They knew what she looked like naked. The fat. The pudge that fell over her waistband when she leaned over or sat down. The heft that jiggled when Devin thrust into her. When Ezra pinched her backside.

In a way Devin had done her a favor. Turning Peter away because of Devin was easier. Easier than seeing the look on his face when they would start to fool around and her clothes would begin to come off. That memory would have been harder to face.

She finally looked up at him and stood from the ledge. "I'm sorry too. I'm sorry that any of this happened. But I need space. I need to figure some stuff out. So I'm asking that of you. That you respect me enough to leave me alone."

Peter winced. "I understand. I just…I wanted you to know the reason… Though I'm not sure this will really help all that much. I just wanted to see if there was anything in the video that would show you were being forced." He gulped air, finding it hard to breathe at the thought of how long Devin had been abusing her, how long he hadn't realized it. "Devin wanted us to drop the charges because he said the videos don't look non-consensual and that if we didn't drop the charges, he would post the videos online. I wanted to try to prove him wrong."

"When did you talk to Devin?"

Oh, shit. "He…he texted me the video and had me meet him last night."

She pursed her lips angrily. Did any of them think she was old enough to handle her own problems?

"Do you not trust me, Peter?"

"Of course!"

"Then why didn't you tell me he texted you?" Her fury pulsed off her and Peter wasn't quite sure if it was the energy behind her power, or if she was just that angry.

Peter spoke quietly, ashamed, "I didn't want you to get upset that he'd sent me the video. And I didn't want you to be upset that he was blackmailing you."

She stared then, partially to give herself time to keep from crying, and partially because she was trying to consider what to say. What did he think of her that he didn't tell her things that affected only her?

"If you had told me that he'd sent you the video, you never would have ended up watching it. Because I could have told you that I never acted like I was being made to do those things. The first time I tried to do that…" she swallowed the lump in her throat. "The first time he filmed me, I made it clear I wanted no part of it. And I never did it after that. Do you know why, Peter?"

Peter shook his head, unable to answer from the tears threatening to spill onto his cheeks.

"Because he deleted it and made me do it _again_. And again. He made me do it three more times. Recorded me doing it three more times. So that I would never do it again. It worked. Because by then I was too shattered to think of fighting back. I just wanted it done and over. Which meant playing along the first time. It was the only way to make it quick."

The expression Peter wore was one Maureen would never forget. A mix of horror, disgust, and shock.

"Oh god, Maureen. I should've known. I should've seen it." Peter was crying again. How could anyone be that cruel? He'd witnessed how many fights? How many power struggles? But of everything, this took his breath away.

"It's not your fault, Peter. The world isn't fair. If it was then the blip would never have happened. Or at the very least, I would've been blipped out too so that I didn't have to live with my only friend disappearing from my life only to return five years younger than me. She's still thirteen. The only person I could talk to. If the world were fair, I wouldn't even be at the compound. I wouldn't even have powers. I would be in Virginia with my mom, who would still be alive. So yeah, shit happens. You can't blame yourself for everything."

She walked up to him, studying him. Her anger had diminished and was replaced with the sadness.

He didn't say anything else as she walked toward the roof door, and left.

She found herself in her private bathroom, turning the shower on. She wasn't entirely certain how she'd gotten there, but she was alone, and that was good enough. The water took a minute to warm up, the sound of the water beginning to give her a familiar comfort. While she waited, she studied the bathroom. It was spacious, and perfectly decorated, with brown and teal accents throughout. She would miss this bathroom.

Maureen stepped under the water, closed the shower curtain, and sighed. She needed a place to go, and she needed it fast.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

Peter returned to the lab, utterly silent and with red, bloodshot eyes. Tony decided it was best not to ask at that particular moment.

The two stayed up the rest of the night watching the AI's progress on Devin's phone. By two AM, they had hacked in entirely and could see everything.

FRIDAY went to work, using the facial recognition to pull up both pictures and videos of Maureen. Tony, much to Peter's surprise, created a hidden folder on the computer and slowly moved the files off of Devin's phone, and into the folder instead.

"Tony!? What the hell? I thought we were going to delete them!" Peter stared at the screen in horror.

"They're still evidence, Peter. They can't just be erased from history. We may need them for the trial." Tony looked over at him. "I promise I will never look at them, nor will I give anyone other than the authorities access to them."

By five AM, it was done. Every video, every picture, was gone from Devin's phone, and hidden, safely, on Tony's computer.

"Sh-should I go tell Maureen?"

"Likely she's still asleep. It is just after five in the morning, after all." Tony yawned then, contemplating going up to bed and taking a cat nap.

"I doubt it. She probably didn't sleep well." Likely she hadn't slept at all, if Peter was correct.

"Well, then, I guess so. It might help her forgive you a little." Tony typed in a long and complex password on the folder.

"I doubt it."

"Never know til you tried, kid. Well, I'm going for a quick rest. See you in a bit." Tony left Peter standing there, debating whether or not to go see Maureen.

Finally, Peter stepped forward and hit the elevator call button. He needed to fix it, and this was step one.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

Peter knocked lightly on Maureen's door. He couldn't hear any steady breathing like he normally could when she was asleep in her room, so he assumed she was awake.

"Maureen?" He knocked again.

He strained to listen against the door but heard nothing.

"FRIDAY, is Maureen in her room?"

"Maureen is nowhere to be found in her room or her bathroom."

"Is she in my room?" He knew he was likely wasting his time with that one, but he could wish.

"No, she is not."

He sighed. "FRI, where in the compound is Maureen right now?"

"Maureen is not in the compound, nor on the compound's grounds."

"Not on the grounds?" Peter's heart picked up its pace. "When did she leave, FRI?"

"Maureen left the grounds at 2:07 AM in an unknown car."

Peter was already moving towards the closest screen, the TV in the living room. "FRIDAY, pull up footage of Maureen leaving."

The screen flashed blue before footage from one of the exterior cameras came to life in front of him.

A car pulled up to the main drive and stopped. In the front window was a brightly lit sign: LYFT. Maureen came on camera then, accompanied by the suitcases she'd had with her when she'd arrived.

"Oh, shit."

Maureen was gone, and he had no idea how to find her.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

Maureen knocked on the apartment door, trying to ignore the large cockroach that was crawling up the hall to her right.

It swung open slowly revealing a sluggish young man in boxers and a tank top.

"Hi, Alec."

"Hey, Maureen. Did you find the place okay?" He opened the door wider to allow her to come in.

"Yeah, it wasn't too hard." She neglected to mention that the Lyft driver had gotten scared of the neighborhood and had dropped her off four blocks away.

"Good, good."

The apartment was smaller than she'd expected. The living room and kitchen could have fit in the sitting area of her room at the compound. It was also dirtier than she'd imagined too. Dishes were piled high in the sink, clothes were thrown all over the tiny, stained couch, and she was pretty sure there was mold growing in the top corner of the room.

"So like I said on the phone, Kara works nights, so she said you're welcome to take her bed. On nights she doesn't work, we can figure it out. Like, my bed is a queen size, and her bed is a queen size, so I dunno, we could share. Or we can clean the couch or something." Alec was fumbling around the kitchen. "Did you want coffee?"

"No, I'm good, thank you." She was still standing in the middle of the room, unsure of what to do with her suitcases.

"That's good, cuz apparently we're out. I'll have to add it to the grocery list." Alec opened the refrigerator door, which allowed Maureen a quick peek in.

There was a quarter of a gallon of milk, and a bottle of ketchup.

Maybe she'd made a hasty decision leaving the compound.

Unfortunately the Lyft ride had cost her more than she'd wanted to spend out of her savings. She needed to find a job, call her college to update her address, and clean this apartment. Those were the priorities. Not thinking about the money she wasted getting there, not thinking about what she gave up leaving the Avengers, and definitely not thinking about Peter.

"So it should only be like 6 weeks, because I have freshmen orientation on August 21."

"No big. So finally gave up on Mom, huh?"

Alec was the much younger brother of Maureen's mom. He'd been born she was fourteen, much to the surprise of the whole family.

"Something like that, yeah. I take it you're still not talking to Gran?"

"Eh, only on holidays and the like. And even then just barely. She's still pissed at me for moving to New York and not voting with her party choice anymore."

Maureen snorted. "Sounds about right."

"Well, Kara's room is that one on the left next to the bathroom. I have work in like two hours, so I'm gonna go back to sleep for a little while. Do you have any money or anything for food? I might have a few bucks cash somewhere…" His eyes began searching the room for loose change.

"I should good, thank you though."

"Okay, cool. I work til like 6 tonight, so let me know if you need me to bring dinner home or whatever."

"I got it. No problem."

Alec looked confused, like he was surprised she could take care of herself. In fairness, she hadn't really seen him since he'd moved out of Gran's at 19 to 'make it' in New York. She'd only been 12 at the time.

"Alright. Later."

Maureen was alone again. She moved her suitcase into her shared room and got to work. First things first: clean. Then she would worry about finding a job.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

"All the stuff you gave her is still in her room," Peter said. "The clothes, her new phone…"

Tony surveyed Maureen's empty room and sighed.

"Tony, we have to find her!"

"And do what, Peter? Force her to come back? She's 18. I was asked to determine if she was a threat, and the answer is no. Because even if she has powers, she isn't going to use them for criminal activities. So there's nothing else I can do."

"But you could find her if you wanted to, right?" Peter insisted as Tony closed the door to Maureen's old room.

"Yes, I could find her _if I wanted to_." He headed back towards the lab to find suitable storage for Maureen's suit.

"How?"

Tony glared at Peter. "Leave it alone, Underoos."

"A tracker on her old phone? Satellite surveillance of CCTVs for facial recognition?"

They were in the lab now, Tony contemplating where to store the Hawthorn suit.

"We have to at least know where she is for the charges against Devin!"

Tony ignored him.

"Oh my god, you _know_ where she is, don't you?" Peter huffed. "Why didn't you tell me hours ago when I came to you?"

"Because I didn't know then, okay? She texted about an hour ago with her address. But _only_ for purposes of giving it to my lawyer for the case." His tone was clear: it's not so you can go after her and beg for forgiveness.

"Tony…" Peter was desperate by then. How many people had he lost? He couldn't lose her too. "Please."

"No, Peter. I'm sorry. I really am. But she specifically asked me not to give it to you. Give her some time. She's owed at least that." Tony put a hand on Peter's shoulder. "She deserves our respect to do as she asks."

Peter's shoulders drooped. "I'm gonna go to the city for a while. Clear my head."

Tony eyed the young hero. "Just be safe. And don't do anything stupid."

Peter nodded. "Don't worry, I've had my fill of doing stupid things for a while."


	9. Chapter 9

This will be a bit of a short chapter, because of how the events play out.

Trigger warnings:

Non-con sexual acts

Dubious con Prostitution

Mention of illegal drug use

Fat shaming

Maureen tossed her work uniform on her bed and slipped into her makeshift suit. She could hear the giggling from the living room, and knew it was best to stay out late.

Alec had some friends over, who had brought some recreational fun in the form of needles. She knew for a fact his one friend was headed in the direction of becoming a dealer, and whenever he was around he leered in her direction with a look that was reminiscent of both Ezra and Devin.

Plus lately Kara had been bringing a couple of her regular clients home with her. Alec had neglected to mention that Kara was an escort, and now some of her regulars were offering up extra money to talk Maureen into joining them in a threesome.

She exited the bank account app on her phone, trying to ignore the little voice in her head that was tempted to take them up on the offers. She'd had an interview that morning for a better paying temp job that would last until freshman orientation, but unless she got it, she was beginning to doubt that she would be able to go this year at all. Her first installment for her tuition bill was due by the day she moved in, and as of this moment it looked like she wouldn't still have it in her account. Even with financial aid, she was left with quite a bit she had to pay out of pocket. Why on earth had she chosen to go to a private college again?

The crappy minimum wage job she'd gotten the day after arriving paid for food and about half of the few hundred in rent for July and August that she'd promised Alec, but that was it. Plus her cell phone had broken, so she'd sucked it up and gotten a new one, which meant an extra $50 per month on her cell phone bill while she paid of the exorbitant cost. Every once in a while she regretted leaving the phone Tony had given her.

Tony's lawyer had contacted her the day before to let her know that nothing would be happening on the charges against Devin until August, so she had a little time to push it out of her mind. Unfortunately, it did mean she would eventually have to return to the compound, or at least the same town, but she knew she couldn't just drop the charges and walk away. Who knew if Devin would try it again with someone else? Or if he had already in the past?

Maureen tossed another shirt overtop of the costume and tucked her mask into her pocket. Now to get through the living room mostly unscathed…

Alec was strung out on the couch, clearly high as a kite while another of his nameless friends was tying a tourniquet around his own arm.

Marcos, or _Creepy Dealer_, as she often referred to him in her head, smirked at her. "You going out, sweetheart? You could just stay and have some fun with us."

"As enlightening as that sounds, I have shit to do."

"Alec, your niece is a bitch, man," Marcos whined.

Alec, still floating somewhere over the rainbow, gave no indication that he heard Marcos, or even that he knew Marcos still existed.

Maureen restrained herself from slamming the door on her way out. At least her anger would help in tonight's patrolling.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

Peter swung through the streets aimlessly. It had been two weeks. Two weeks without cuddling up with Maureen and debating about plotlines or characters from movies. Two weeks without making faces behind the other team members' backs to get the other to crack up. Two weeks without falling asleep next to his best friend. Next to the girl he wanted to be with.

He'd spent most of his time at the Stark Tower, happy to get away from the pitying stares of the other Avengers.

Tony had been adamant that he shouldn't try to track down Maureen, and Peter had been true to his word so far. He hadn't tried to track her down. But he wasn't sure how much longer he'd be able to last.

Screams interrupted his thoughts and he shifted course, swinging to the west. He was a couple of blocks away when he heard a familiar voice.

Maureen?

"So what's it gonna be? Leave the lady alone and walk away, or I make it so you can never use your penis again. Your choice. It's really not a bad deal, honestly."

Definitely Maureen.

He swooped down, landing on a balcony covered in shadows above the scene. She had on a pair of holey jeans, a long sleeved black shirt, and a black mask that looked like it had been cut some a pair of sweatpants.

"And what do you plan to do to my penis there, fatty? You gonna strip naked so I'm never able to get a boner again?" He laughed cruelly, and the girl he held under his arm squirmed.

Peter almost jumped down and took him out right then, anger shooting through him. But he waited. Had she become Hawthorn on her own time?

Maureen snapped her fingers and a quick streak of fire shot upward. "I was thinking third degree burns were actually pretty uncomfortable."

"What the fuck? How did you do that?"

She sent a fireball speeding inches past his head. "Now, back to those choices."

He let go of the woman and stepped back, hands in the air. "Okay, chill there, fatso."

This time Peter prepared to jump down but was halted as Maureen made a move instead.

She levitated a few inches off the ground as a stream of fire soared at the would-be-criminal. The right leg of his pants lit on fire and he shrieked.

"Shit! Shit! I'm sorry, lady!" He fell to the ground and tamped the fire out.

"Now run along and go play nice. If I see you manhandling any women again I'm calling the cops."

"Yeah, absolutely. Never again." He stumbled to his feet and ran off, the smell of smoke trailing behind him.

"Thank you so much," the woman said to Maureen.

"No problem. Just don't take anymore shortcuts. Men are dicks who think _with _their dicks." With that, she turned and walked away.

To follow her or not to follow her? Would that be stalker-ish?

Peter watched Maureen sneak through the backstreets like it was second nature. Had she been doing this the whole time she was here? And how did he not know that she was in Queens? Particularly one of the neighborhoods he patrolled regularly because of its reputation?

It wasn't long before she spotted another potential crime. A woman was being followed by a couple of guys who were noticeably stopping when she stopped and walking when she walked. The woman had crossed the street and clearly looked panicked.

Maureen walked straight up to the woman.

"Hey, these guys following you?"

"Uh, yeah. I think so."

She nodded. "I got this. You head on to your destination. Have a good night."

The woman looked perplexed but nodded and kept walking.

"There a reason you're following a woman who doesn't know you?"

"Hey, we're not following _her_. She just happens to be walking the same direction as us." One guy protested sarcastically.

"You're going to turn around and crawl back into whatever hole you came from." Her voice was calm. She'd gotten better at this part in the last couple of weeks.

"Or you could take that nice lady's place instead. You'd look great with your mouth wrapped around my dick." The second one smirked.

Maureen's mind went blank. Devin chuckled in her mind, _You look best when your mouth is wrapped around my dick, sweetheart. _Shit. She needed to get it together.

"What's wrong, baby? Don't think you could handle what I got down here?"

A web slammed across his mouth, cutting him off.

Peter? Maureen looked up and saw Spider-man jump down from the side of a building.

"I think someone needs to wash his mouth out with soap," he quipped.

"Spider-man. What are you doing here?" Maureen snapped.

"Just out for a nighttime swing."

"I had this handled," she fumed.

Peter suddenly regretted stepping in. She probably would've been okay. He should've waited.

The two, seeing the opportunity, starting to run from the superheroes.

"Ugh, now they're getting away."

"Nah, I got this." Peter shot webs at both, sending them flying to the ground, their feet bound in his webs. "Karen, call the police and let them know these two are here. Send the footage."

Maureen let out what sounded a bit like an angry growl and stalked off.

"Ma—Hawthorn, wait." Peter jogged to catch up with her.

"What do you want, Peter?" She halted abruptly and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I didn't like track you here if that's what you're thinking. It was just coincidence." He paused. "Okay, well technically, I saw you rescue that one woman like twenty minutes ago and I've sort of been following you since then. But not because I thought you needed help. I just… I don't know. I miss you."

Maureen's anger wavered for a moment. She'd missed him so much but knew she couldn't open that can of worms again. How disgusted must he be after having seen that footage of her? She couldn't handle the conversation where he would admit that his feelings had vanished and he had no desire to be with her anymore.

"I could've taken those two."

"I know! I know you could've. I'm sorry. It was instinct."

They both fell silent, unsure of what to say next.

"How have you been?" Peter asked hesitantly.

"Surviving." She sort of regretted how short she was being, but she wasn't sure how else to act.

"Yeah. I get that." Peter looked down at the ground.

"I should go…" She gestured towards her usual beat. "Bad guys won't beat themselves up, after all."

"Right. That's true." Peter was desperate to apologize for what felt like the hundredth time. To hug her and plead with her to come back to the compound.

"Take care, Spider-man." She stepped off the curb to walk across the street.

"Just know that you can come back…if you want. I'd do anything for you to come back." His words were quiet, but she heard them just the same.

Her steps slowed for a few seconds, but she fought the urge to turn back to him and kept walking.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

Maureen sat on Kara's bed working out her finances. By the time her orientation came, her savings account would be drained by more than three quarters. There would be no way to make the required payment for school.

She leaned back on the pillow and studied the small room. Her suitcases were tucked into a corner, one stacked on the other for lack of space. The tiny closet stood open, Kara's clothes pouring out. More than half were dresses made up of very little fabric.

How difficult could it be? Just a few times? Two of Kara's regular clients had asked Maureen for one-on-one time with her. They had offered a hundred for an hour. It wouldn't replenish her savings entirely, but it wouldn't hurt. What was the difference, truly, between Devin's hands or Ezra's hands or some other stranger's?

Peter flashed into her mind. How had it gotten so messed up? She wished she were back at the compound, curled up with Peter watching a movie and complaining about their tired muscles from Nat's latest training. How quickly it had crumbled.

She heard movement from the front door. Kara was home and would want her bed.

Maureen stood and threw on her uniform. She'd taken to working double shifts almost every day, in addition to patrolling for at least two hours each night. She just needed to make it another month. Another month and she would be at school. Assuming she could get the money, anyway.

Kara greeted her with a tired smile upon entering.

Halfway out the door, Maureen paused and looked back, swallowing her fear. "Are the two…clean?"

Kara blinked up in confusion until it dawned on her. "They've been clients for almost a year, and I've never caught anything from them."

Maureen nodded. "Tell them I'll do it."

"Are you sure?" Kara considered the 18-year-old standing before her.

"Yes," Maureen said. If she took too long to consider, she would back down. "Tonight and tomorrow night. I'm off work early enough I can get ready."

"Alright. I'll let them know."

The tears came when she hit the hallway. There was no going back.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

Peter told himself he wasn't purposely hanging around the same area where he ran into Maureen the night before. But he knew deep down it was a lie he was telling himself.

He found that he did have quite a bit of work to do in her patrol boundaries. He'd stopped two muggings, gotten a drunk girl home safely, and had prevented a hold up at a convenience store. Upon talking with the would-be robber, Peter discovered that he needed the money because his daughter was sick and he couldn't afford the prescription. He had no health insurance.

So Peter bid him to wait there, swung halfway across town so he couldn't be followed, and took three hundred from his savings. The man cried and hugged him, his hands warm through Peter's Spider-man suit.

It made Peter wonder even more where Maureen lived now, if this was the area she patrolled.

A familiar giggle interrupted his thoughts. He leapt over to the edge of the next building and looked down. Maureen walked up accompanied by a man he'd never seen before. It was almost one in the morning. What was she doing?

She giggled again, but it struck Peter as odd and somehow off. He leaned closer. "Karen, can you zoom in on Maureen."

"Yes, Peter."

His suit's eyesight manipulated to give him a clear look at Maureen's face. It showed him the fear in her eyes. Was she being forced? Blackmailed again?

But what if she wasn't? What if she never forgave him if he interrupted and it had been her choice?

"Okay, Karen." The magnification ended.

Maureen glanced over towards the building where Peter hunched in the shadows, almost as if she knew he were there, watching.

Then she and the man disappeared into the hotel next to him.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

For a moment it had felt as if someone were staring at her and that feeling hung over her as she and Daniel climbed the stairs towards the room he'd purchased for the next hour. She hadn't even known there were hotels that would rent rooms for less than a full night.

Dread ruminated in her stomach.

She knew Peter must have been there. Must have been watching her and seen her enter a hotel with Daniel. If any doors had remained open between them, they had just slammed shut.

Daniel unlocked the hotel door and let her go in first. So far he was a gentleman. Tall, stocky, but nice. His brown curls reminded her of Peter's when he left it loose with no product.

She blinked images of Peter out of her head and focused on Daniel.

"Kara said you've never…" He motioned to the hotel room, which looked like something out of a horror film: dated, stained, with furniture that looked like it was about to fall apart on its own.

"Uh, not for money, no." Not for love nor pleasure, either, but he didn't need to know that.

Daniel nodded. "I'm sure Kara told you, I prefer blow jobs first. Then sex."

Maureen's heart pounded as she agreed. Daniel placed the money on the dresser to show her he had it and sat on the edge of the bed.

With a deep breath, Maureen knelt at the bed's end and undid Daniel's pants, pulling his erection free. She leaned forward and stroked him gently before licking the underside of his shaft. But now he was not Daniel. He was Devin, holding his camera, mocking her, manipulating her.

Maureen closed her eyes. _He's Daniel. Not Devin. Daniel_. She continued her ministrations, licking downward and finally taking him into her mouth.

Again Devin was there, standing over her. She gasped and fell backward.

"What? What is it?" Daniel frowned down at her.

"I…I can't do this. I'm sorry. I'll go." She stood to leave, but Daniel grabbed her wrist.

"I took great risk coming here today. Once this week with Kara and now with you? My wife would be suspicious. You _will_ finish."

The air fled her lungs as he pulled her back down to her knees. His hands were on her head, pushing it between his legs.

Panicked, her fingertips lit up with sparks and a burst of flame and brushed against Daniel's shirt.

"What the fuck!?" he pushed her away and leapt back, smacking at his clothes.

"I…I have to go." Maureen was on her feet and out the door before Daniel could say anything else. She tore down the stairs and out of the hotel, her heart in her throat.

Within minutes she had reached Alec's apartment.

Maureen unlocked the door and walked in, unsure if Kara would be home, or if Daniel would call her and tell her what had happened.

Alec lied on the couch, his eyes cast to the ceiling in a stupor. Marcos flipped through channels on the TV next to him. When he saw her come in, he smiled in a way that made Maureen shudder.

"Hey there, sweetheart."

"Hi, Marcos," she muttered. Her mind was too busy working through her options. She could pretend like Daniel was high and hadn't actually seen anything. She could say he was making it up because she didn't go through with it.

Maureen sat on the dining room chair they used for extra seating near the TV, but she didn't have long to think before the door burst open and Kara stormed in.

"Are you kidding me?" She railed at Maureen. "You tried to _burn_ my client?"

Maureen shot off the chair, hands raised. "I don't know what he told you, but-"

"You have powers. Your fingers were _on fire_!" Kara gaped at her.

Marcos watched the exchange with interest. "You're one of those mutants or inhumans or something? _Really_?" His gaze was lecherous. "That's pretty hot."

Maureen shook. "H-he's lying. I don't have powers. I refused at the last second and he got angry and-"

Marcos stood and drew closer to Maureen who backed up into the chair.

"You know, I'm sure some…arrangement could be made so no one needs to know your secret." His breath, warm and musty, hit her face as he cornered her.

_No_.

_No_ _more._

Marcos's hands were on her hips then, pulling her into him.

"No!" She shoved him backward and kicked him square in the chest with a force that would have made Nat proud. He flew backward into the cheap coffee table, splintering it in two.

Marcos groaned in pain as Kara gasped.

For the second time in the last hour, Maureen fled before anyone could say anything.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

Peter stepped through the balcony opening with a sigh. After seeing Maureen with that man he'd gone through the motions of patrolling, getting things done but barely.

Upon walking into the main living area though, his heart leapt into his throat.

Maureen was curled up on the couch, asleep.

Peter was torn between letting her sleep, or waking her and finding out what had happened: where she had been, who that man had been, where he was now.

He settled for the first option and went to get changed. On the way back, he grabbed a snack and headed to the couch.

Quietly so he wouldn't disturb her, Peter slipped into the seat next to her. She stirred but slept on. He desperately wanted to pull her into him and fall asleep next to her, but he didn't have her permission.

He had to earn her trust back, and that started right now.


	10. Chapter 10

Trigger Warnings:

Brief non-con sexual act

Illegal drug use

Brief violence

Maureen woke with a start, disoriented as she searched for something familiar to ground her. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness and she remembered she was in the Stark Tower.

Peter was next to her asleep on the couch, thrashing and moaning. She leaned over and gently rubbed his arm. "Peter," she whispered.

His eyes sprung open with panic, his breathing heavy.

"Hey, it was a dream. It's okay."

He blinked at Maureen, his breathing evening out. "Hey."

"Hey. Wanna talk about it?"

"Huh?" He sat up, stretching a crick in his neck.

"About the dream." She clarified.

His head swam remembering the details. "It was Skip again. Except I wasn't 8. It was at the compound for some reason and I kept calling for Tony. My powers didn't work. It was like I didn't have them at all." He left out the second half where Skip vanished and Devin was there, Maureen begging him for help. But Peter just sat there. He just sat there and stared, wondering why she wanted help as Devin thrust into her. The expression on her face was stuck in his mind's eye. The look of terror and betrayal.

"Been having the nightmares long?" There was guilt behind the question. Guilt for having not been there.

"Just here and there. I think the whole thing with-" He cut himself off. He didn't want to mention Devin right now. Not with the dream echoing in his head. "It's just sort of stirred a bunch of memories. Especially with the charges and whatnot."

"I'm-" Her voice was filled with emotion when she first spoke, so she paused to clear her throat. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. A wise person once told me you can't blame yourself for everything."

Maureen scoffed. "She was probably delusion and channeling her therapist at the time."

Peter smiled at her then. "I've missed you."

She looked down at the couch, her eyes catching a loose thread. "I missed you too."

"Will you come back? To the compound?"

She'd thought about it the entire way to the tower, and then the whole time she was sitting on the couch waiting for Peter to come back and find her.

"Yeah. I will." She pulled on the thread a little to see if it would come loose. It stuck tightly.

Peter breathed a sigh of relief. "Have I mentioned in the last thirty minutes that I'm sorry?"

She chuckled. "It's fine. I forgive you."

Maureen hadn't realized it before stepping foot back into the tower, but it was the truth; she had forgiven Peter. Though she was still weary of what he thought of her now, she knew his motives were honest.

"Hey, how did you get into Stark Tower last night?" He'd considered that maybe she had levitated up, but there was no way she could've gotten into his balcony, because he hadn't told her the combination. It had never occurred to him that she may come to the tower without him.

"The doorman remembered me." She had been surprised, but it was her last hope, so she'd taken a chance as she'd hailed a cab to Stark Tower.

"Oh, right. I sometimes forget about him because most of the time I come in through the balcony."

"Um, by the way. I…might need some help, if you're willing?" She asked sheepishly.

"Sure, what do you need?"

"Well, I left all of my stuff in my last apartment and I kind of could use some back-up to go and get it." She'd been downstairs and outside before she'd thought of it, her brain just concentrating onfleeing at the time.

"Absolutely. Speaking of…" Peter started. "Where have you been staying this whole time?"

"With my uncle. Alec. He's much younger than my mom. He's actually only 7 years older than me."

"So I take he didn't get blipped either?"

"No, he was like me. Gran, Alec, and I all survived," Maureen said.

"Just so you know, that technically means that I'm older than you. Cuz I was born five years before you." Peter gave her a cocky smirk.

"Yeah, yeah. If you can't drink legally, it means nothing." She stuck her tongue out at him and laughed.

Peter rolled his eyes, but didn't argue the point. "When did you want to go get your stuff?"

"Actually," she glanced at her watch. "It's five now, so I would say we should head that direction. My uncle will be headed to work in a couple of hours, and while Kara will be there, she'll be dead asleep."

"Okay. I'll get changed and then we'll go." Peter stood and paused. "Anything I should know about them before we get there?"

Maureen avoided his gaze. "It's…possible."

He sat back down.

"Where to start…um. Alec has always been kind of…wild, I guess is the word. I didn't realize it until I'd been there a few nights, but one of his friends is basically a heroin dealer. Apparently it's a really recent thing, so Alec just got addicted within the last couple of months. Marcos, that's his friend who's been getting into the game as a dealer, hangs around the apartment a lot, but usually at night so there's only like a thirty percent chance he's there. I shared a bedroom with his roommate, Kara, so my stuff is in there, but it's all still basically packed. It won't actually take long to get."

Peter waited, expecting more to come. "Why do you need me to come with you?"

Two tears Maureen had been trying to hold back escaped and slid down her cheek.

"Reeni?" Peter shifted closer to her on the couch.

"I want to tell you, but I also don't want you to think less of me or…well, you probably already see me differently after those videos, but…I did some stuff. And it's not really anything I'm proud of and…" She exhaled deeply, her breathing unsteady at the memory of the last 12 hours.

"I'm not going to see you differently, Reen. I don't see you differently now than I ever did." Peter remembered the man from the night before. Perhaps that was Marcos. Maybe she had sold heroin for him?

"In the time since I left the compound, I've had to live off most of the money that I had set aside for my first two college tuition payments, one for this semester, and one for next semester. It's almost all gone. I don't think I'm going to have enough to go this semester. I'm going to call today and forfeit my deposit, or see if they'll let it stand for the Spring semester. Well, Alec's roommate, Kara. She's an—" Maureen swallowed. "She's an escort. Which, I mean, hey she enjoys it and that's cool. You do you, right? Some of her clients would come home with her occasionally. The ones she's had for a long while, you know? Well, a couple of them took an interest in me."

Peter's stomach flipped. The man from last night. In his mind he saw them now, in the hotel, Maureen naked underneath him, scared but trying her best not to show it. A mixture of emotions flooded him: jealousy at thinking of Maureen with someone else, anger at himself for making it so she'd ever felt like she'd needed to leave, sadness imagining Maureen feeling like she had no other option.

"They offered more than I could refuse. So…I said yes." She felt sick telling this to him. Seeing the sad look on his face. "My first _appointment_ was last night. This guy, Daniel."

Maureen paused, contemplating how much she should divulge.

"In the interest of full disclosure, I did see you last night." Peter interjected. "I patrolled in the same area, sort of hoping to run into you again. I saw you with him outside the hotel. And then go into the hotel. But then I left right after. I kind of didn't want to know what was happening. I thought maybe you were on a date or something."

"A date," she snorted. "Not quite. He rented the room for an hour, Peter. A hundred dollars and the price of a cheap hotel room. That's what I'm worth."

"Don't say that. You're worth…everything. If I had to give up everything in order for you to come back, I would," Peter insisted.

Maureen's eyes glistened with tears. She wanted to believe it, but it was easy to say those sorts of things. Easy to exaggerate.

She continued on before she gave in to her desire to run the opposite direction. "Well, regardless, I went with him to the hotel on the promise that I was going to…" she waved her hand, "you know. We got upstairs and he wanted me to go down on him and I thought that I could, because hey, it's not Devin, and I chose to do it, so it would be alright. But it wasn't alright. I-I tried… but then it was like I could see Devin there. Holding the camera. Mocking me. So I freaked out and pulled away and Daniel didn't like that. He grabbed my and shoved my head down to try to make me…"

Her tears were falling steadily now. Peter choked down the lump in his throat, determined to be strong for his best friend.

"I panicked. I used my power in front of him and then he was freaking out and I ran. I ran back to Alec's apartment. But by the time I got there, Kara wasn't far behind me. Alec was high, and Marcos was there, so when Kara came bursting in saying Daniel had called her and I had shot fire at him, Marcos cornered me. He was going to blackmail me. Keep my secret if I…_did_ stuff to him." She let out a short sob. "I was so sick of it. I was so tired of being this object for people to use, so I pushed him and then kicked him in the chest. He flew back and broke the coffee table. Then I ran and came here."

Peter lifted an arm to pull her into him but stopped. "Is it okay if I hug you?"

Only at her nod did he wrap his arm across her. She collapsed further into him, burying her face into his chest. "If he's still there, I don't know what he'll do to me if I go back. I kicked him pretty hard."

"Nat would be proud. Her training paid off."

Maureen chortled in spite of herself. "That's what I thought too."

"Alright, so I will expect a very pissed off wannabe drug dealer, a snippy escort, and a high uncle."

"Alec will only have had enough to get him through work. So he'll probably be pretty lucid, but I don't know how he's going to react to me having powers, or betraying his friends."

"If his reaction is anything other than to be pissed off with his friends, and tell you it's okay, then you deserve better." Peter looked at her pointedly.

"We'll see." Maureen stood. "We should go."

"I'm tempted to go as Spider-man, but when Hawthorn joins the Avengers, I don't want them to piece together that you know me and that Hawthorn's power is fire."

"_When_ I join the Avengers?" She raised an eyebrow.

He shrugged. "Hypothetically, that is." He grabbed his keys and smirked. "Ready?"

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

Maureen unlocked the apartment door and tentatively swung it open. Her heart sank as soon as she saw him. Marcos, sleeping on the couch. She put a finger over her lips and motioned, mouthing _Marcos_ to Peter.

He nodded and the two stepped into the apartment as lightly as they could manage. Maureen almost considered levitating to keep from making noise but figured that would cause bigger issues if he woke up or someone else came out. That was at least one power about which they knew nothing.

The door to Kara's room was open, but she wasn't there. Likely she'd been with one of her clients who had her stay the night. Maureen set to work gathering the few items she had spread throughout the room.

She whispered to Peter, "Will you go next door to the bathroom and grab my toiletries? There should be a pink and green make up bag under the sink, and the Loreal products in the bathtub are mine, plus the lavender bodywash. Oh, and the green towel is mine too. It should be hanging up on a hook."

Peter nodded and left to go in search of her belongings.

Maureen leaned to zip up the bigger of the two suitcases when she felt Peter return.

"Did you find the-" she turned and gasped as a hand flew over her mouth.

Marcos grinned at her. "Welcome home, sweetheart."

Her eyes flew to the door, which was now shut and locked.

He shoved her against the dresser with such force that Kara's perfume bottles fell over, clattering against one another.

"Let's chat about this magical power you've got. I'm sure you don't want anyone to know about it." His hand crept to the hem of her shirt. With a swift movement, he reached upward and squeezed her right breast painfully.

She cried out, the sound muffled by his hand.

Maureen considered her options. She could use her power and get away, but that would confirm that she had them.

Instead, she shook her head.

"What? Trying to claim you don't have any powers?" Marcos asked.

She nodded, his hand with bruising strength against her cheeks and chin.

"Like I believe that." He removed his hand from her breast and instead shoved them down the waistband of her leggings and underwear.

Maureen tried to remember the maneuver Nat had taught her to get out of a similar position, but the feel of his hand gripping and pinching her folds was sending her spiraling.

The door flew open as she failed an attempt to twist away from him. Peter stood behind it, eyes blazing.

Peter took in the scene in front of him, immediately registering the locations of either of Marcos's hands and the pain and humiliation in Maureen's eyes. In all of the years he'd been battling villains, he'd never before felt such blind rage towards another.

Before he could act, however, Marcos yanked his hand free at the sudden interruption, allowing Maureen the moment she needed to shove her memories aside and grasp his arm, wrenching it behind him. With her hold on his arm, she forced him to the floor and ground her knee into his back.

"Shit. Let me go, bitch!" He spat.

She jabbed her knee into him harder and shoved his head into the floor so his cheek was flattened against the aged, stained hardwood.

"Word to the wise: don't call the person who has you overpowered and on the floor a 'bitch.'" Maureen sneered.

"I'd suggest that when she lets you go, you stay there. And then you forget that she exists. Because if her moves aren't phasing you right now, I can introduce you to the person who taught them to her. And that's only after she and I have both had our fill kicking your ass." Peter leaned over Marcos before turning to Maureen. "Got everything?"

It took her a second to dismiss the fact that she'd just heard Peter threaten to kick someone's ass. "Once you pack that stuff in your hands, we're good to go."

Peter nodded and moved to place her toiletries in the open bag.

"If you ever come to this neighborhood again, girlie, you're dead." Marcos huffed under her weight.

With a swift move, Maureen had him on his back on the floor. With indescribable speed, she covered his body with hers, one hand on his throat, fingers positioned exactly as Nat had shown her that would cause the most damage with the least force.

"Let's get this straight, _sweetheart_. The only one who should be concerned here is _you_. Because I've been cataloguing every needle, every gram brought into this apartment. I have recordings of conversations you had with Alec discussing your so-called business. Names of other dealers. Names of clients. An entire catalog of everything you've been doing. It's all stored away someplace safe. It's enough to get you at least 20 years and bring down several others with you. How long do you think you'd last in prison if any of them ended up there with you? A week? Two weeks? If anything ever happens to me, that information goes directly to my lawyer. Do. You. Understand?"

Marcos's eyes had grown wider and wider as she'd spoken. He struggled to speak, "You'd never throw your uncle under the bus like that."

"Fucking try me," she growled. "Let's try it again: do you understand?"

He nodded, trying to get air.

"Good." Her grip loosened on his throat and she leapt off of him. "Let's go, Peter."

Peter handed her the smaller of the two suitcases and trailed behind her out the bedroom door.

Alec was standing in the living room, having heard the commotion.

"Hey, Alec," Maureen whispered, the adrenaline draining from her body. She wasn't sure if the tired expression on his face was because of his drug addiction, or because of her.

"What happened, Reeni?"

Maureen flinched. He'd taken to calling her Reeni years before, after her mom's death. She'd loved it before, but now it seemed tainted coming from him. The vacant look that he held in his eyes each time he shot up swam before her eyes. It was hard to know who he was anymore.

"I could ask the same of you, Alec." She looked him up and down with an appraising eye. "What happened to the guy who liked to toss me into the lake? Or the guy who cut smiley faces into my sandwiches until I was eleven? Remember when you caught me smoking and gave me this long ass lecture about how it had killed your best friend's dad? And now you're here feeding a heroin addiction. You were like my brother."

Alec's eyes shifted away from hers. "Shit's hard here, Reeni."

"Shit's hard everywhere; what's your fucking point?" She glared and shoved past him, Peter following silently behind. "And don't call me Reeni. Only family calls me Reeni."

She looked at him only long enough to see his face fall before she ushered Peter into the hall and slammed the door behind them.

Peter waited until they were outside on the sidewalk before speaking. "You okay?"

She was tempted to lie but changed her mind. There was no reason not to tell him the truth at this point.

"No."

He reached over and took her free hand in his, clasping it gently. She squeezed his hand gratefully.

A couple of blocks away, Peter broke the silence once more.

"Are the names and everything, your catalog of all the info on Marcos, written down on your phone somewhere?"

Maureen laughed, feeling a moment of relief. "What catalog?" She winked at him as he joined in her laughter.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

That night she and Peter ordered a pizza, popped some popcorn, and settled into their old places on the couch to watch a Disney marathon. Peter had made the case that _Star Wars_ would technically count now for a Disney marathon, so _A New Hope_ was in the line-up, right after _Brave_.

"You know what would have made this movie better?" Maureen blew on her slice of pizza.

"If it had been a musical?" Peter folded his slice and took a large bite, immediately regretting it for how badly the slice burned his mouth.

"Yes, exactly! I love everything about _Brave_, but it just needed the main characters singing. And the couple of songs here and there, like the lullaby the mom sings, and the song all the guys sing about Mordu don't really count. Merida doesn't have a song about wanting to choose her own fate or anything. Though I'm not really sure how they would do a villain song in this, since the villain is a bear…" She considered, taking a tentative bite of the steaming pizza slice.

"But is Mordu _really_ the villain? Wouldn't it technically be the mom? Or, really, wouldn't it be Merida herself?" Peter raised an eyebrow conspiratorially.

"All Merida wanted was to have a say in what happened to her. And she didn't _know_ she was turning her mom into a bear. Desperate times, right? Is it so much to ask that a woman has control over her own fate?"

Peter looked away from the screen and at Maureen. "Are we still talking about the movie?"

Her face grew warm. When had she become so easily embarrassed? "Yes."

"The red in your face indicates otherwise."

Maureen took another bite of pizza, turning her thoughts over in her head and actively trying to decrease the heat in her cheeks. "I just wish that I felt like that. Like I've had some semblance of control over my life."

"You have it now. Regardless of whatever else has happened. Tony will make sure of it. And so will I. Whatever you want to do."

Merida was flying through the forest on Angus's back, shooting arrows that never failed to hit their targets.

"I want to follow through with my plan. Go to college, get a business degree, open my own stables to board horses and give lessons. Start an equine therapy program for kids who've suffered trauma. And maybe do some superhero Avengers stuff on the side." She gave him a sly smile. "But I guess I'll have to do it later though. I need to save up again. I chose to go to a private school, because they have a horseback riding program that is unmatched. It'll give me the opportunity to work there throughout school and give me direct insight into running a stable. I got some from my job at the inn, but not enough."

Maureen stared wistfully off in the distance.

Peter's heart twisted in his chest. It was just like Tony had said. It wasn't fair for him to ask Maureen to stay at the compound while he ran off to MIT. Even if he had a private jet at his disposal now, she would put her life on hold to be an Avenger while he got both college and the superhero life.

"It feels like forever since I've been on a ride. I miss the inn, and the horses." She frowned and set her pizza on her plate.

"You haven't really mentioned them before, other than saying it was your job."

"I guess I've missed them so much that I kind of wanted to avoid the topic. When we get back to the compound I'll see if there are any stables around that might be hiring. If I have to wait another semester, or another year, to start school, then I guess working at a barn to save the money would be a halfway decent compromise." She sipped at the cherry flavored seltzer that Peter had stocked up on once he knew it was her favorite.

"Speaking of, I was planning on heading back to the compound tomorrow morning if that's okay with you? Tony has a few projects he wants me to look at."

It was sooner than she'd expected, but she knew it would happen sooner or later. Tony probably wanted to see her and find out what the hell had happened to her. She knew Nat wouldn't ask. The others would wonder but would follow Nat's directions and avoid the topic.

"Sure, that's fine." She turned her attention back to the television. "Oh, the best part! Shhhh."

"Who are you shushing? You were the one talking."

"Shhhh!"

Peter grinned and devoured the last of his pizza slice. He found himself staring at Maureen instead of at the movie and allowed himself for the first time in a while to wonder if those feelings she had mentioned still existed. And just as important, if he had a shot.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

After some of his own research, Peter discovered that the closest stable to the compound was an hour away. So he took matters into his own hands.

"On a scale of 'I'll take your Spider-man suit and lock it away forever' to 'you, Underoos, are a genius' where do you fall if I suggest that we build a small stable and buy a horse for the property?"

"I'm sorry. Did you say a horse?" Tony swiveled around in his work chair. "Do you even know what a horse looks like, City Boy?"

"Ha. Hilarious. Seriously, though. Maureen wants to own a stable when she's out of college. And she misses riding. She wants to give lessons and offer equine therapy. Couldn't that therapy help her now? I mean, consider everything she's been through in less than three months. And now she probably has to wait another year to go to school." Peter leaned on the edge of Tony's work desk only to receive a dirty look. He pushed himself off the desk sheepishly.

"Why would she wait another year to go to school? You didn't talk her into delaying college for you, because if you did, so help me…" Tony stood from his chair in what he hoped was a threatening manner.

"Put away the overbearing Dad act, wouldja? She spent most of her tuition money while she was living in the city."

"Most of her tuition money? How much did she spend!?"

"Well, she's only paying for what federal aid didn't cover. I think she said it was like three thousand or something. She spent all but like eight hundred while she was gone. I know she paid for two months' rent up front to Alec, and that alone was almost a thousand."

"That's it? Three thousand dollars?" Tony looked confused.

"Considering she would have to make almost twenty-two hundred dollars back in the next four weeks – less than, really- it's basically impossible. She's looking for a job out here, but the compound is sort of in the middle of nowhere, if you haven't noticed." Peter crossed his arms.

"That's the appeal. You can't have a super secret Avengers base if it's surrounded by everyone and their brother," Tony shot back.

"Isn't that what Stark Tower is?"

"Which is exactly why we left."

Peter sighed. "Anyway, the point is I'm willing to pay for the stable, the fence, and the horse out of my savings if you're okay with all of it existing on the property."

"I will not allow you to spend your savings on a barnyard animal, Pete."

"Tony, I just want Maureen to be hap-"

"Which is why I'm going to pay for it," Tony interrupted.

"Really?"

"FRIDAY, find listings for horses for sale in the area. Then pull up listings for local contractors with five-star ratings." Tony rolled his eyes. "You don't have to look so shocked; I'm not like the Wicked Witch of the West or anything."

"You wish you had a theme as cool as the Wicked Witch," Peter retorted.

"But if you don't head upstairs and get to training, I'm going to sick my flying monkeys on you."

"Alright, I'm going." Peter started to turn to the elevator but paused and crossed over to Tony instead. He pulled Tony into a deep hug. "Thank you, Dad."

With that, he was gone, leaving Tony an emotional puddle in the lab.

**~*~MARVEL~*~ **

Tony and Peter practically giggled at each other as Maureen levitated her way through the field.

"You could just walk, you know," said Peter.

"Blindfolded? This way I don't trip on a loose branch or something and smash my head open. You really want a head injury on your conscience, Parker?"

"She does have a point, Underoos."

"One day you're going to explain the Underoos thing to me," Maureen added.

"I promise that one day I will – oh, careful, you're drifting a little bit too far to the right. Yup, okay, there you go." Peter smirked at Tony and winked.

"Don't think that I didn't notice you cutting yourself off there, _Underoos_."

Peter groaned while Tony guffawed at his misery and at Maureen's use of his kid's least favorite nickname.

"Remind me later to tell you about how his Aunt May and Happy called his Spidey Sense, _Peter Tingles_."

"Tony! You promised never to tell anyone that!" Peter protested.

"Tony, I think it's a shame we haven't really gotten to know each other. Dinner, later?" Maureen wore a lopsided grin.

"That does sound like fun. Especially because there is a distinct look of horror on Peter's face right now that I wish you could see."

"Can we stop playing 'gang up on Peter' now? Because we've arrived," said Peter.

Maureen settled back to the ground. "Can I take off the blindfold now?"

"I got it." Peter smiled, reached up, and untied the strip of fabric.

Her response was everything he had hoped for.

She gasped and one hand flew to her mouth in shock. "Oh my god. Is this… did you do this for me?"

A two-stall stable had been constructed in just under a week's time thanks to the dozen construction workers Tony had hired, and paid double the estimated amount.

"All yours," said Tony.

"It's absolutely gorgeous. It'll be perfect for when I save up and buy -" Her sentence was interrupted by sounds coming from inside the stable. She looked from Tony to Peter and back. "Is that…"

"Go and look." Peter gestured forward.

She gave him a wide grin and ran into the stable. The two men chuckled at the excited shriek that came from inside.

Maureen ran back outside and tossed herself at Tony, arms wide. She hugged him, thanking him over and over. She pulled away from him and repeated the action with Peter, who couldn't help but notice that his hug was a little longer, and her head rested on his shoulder comfortably.

"This is amazing. I don't know what to say."

"Her name would be a good start. At the moment, she has this temporary name of 'Horse A' but it doesn't quite work for her," Tony mused.

Maureen led them into the stable, studying the mare. "How does she not have a name? She's gotta be, what, four?"

"Spot on. Her owner died and left no records. With no surviving heirs, the state took the property."

"Well, that won't do, will it, girl?" She rubbed the horse's muzzle affectionately. "How about Merida? We can control our own fate, right, Merida?"

Peter exchanged a look with Tony. Her voice was so soft. It reminded him of the times he'd woken up from a nightmare to hear her voice, soothing and grounding.

"Do you want to take her for a ride?" Peter asked.

"Did you already buy all of the gear too?" Maureen whirled around, in awe at the tiny tack room in the corner. She grabbed several items which neither Tony nor Peter could distinguish and set to work.

Within what seemed like moments, Merida was saddled up and out of the stable, ready to go.

"That looks like a ton of work; how did you make that seem so easy?" Peter cocked his head in awe.

"Says the person who discusses quantum physics like he's debating which cereal is better," Maureen snorted. She pulled herself onto Merida and sighed with contentment. "Well, gentlemen, I'll see you both at dinner." With a few subtle movements, Merida went from a slow trot to a lively cantor, and finally into a steady gallop.

The pair stood and watched for a minute as Maureen galloped across the lawn of the compound, her laughter ringing throughout the property.

"She's so happy," said Peter. "God, her laugh is beautiful."

"Still haven't talked to her about those feelings then, huh?" Tony teased.

"I will. When the time is right," Peter promised.

"Better hurry up, kid. You've only got three weeks left."

"I mean, yeah, but it'll be really easy for me to just come home whenever."

Tony's heart leapt into his throat as Peter casually called the compound 'home.' "For you, yes. It'll be much harder for her to get here from Virginia." Tony started walking back towards the compound.

"What? Virginia? What do you mean?" Peter ran after him.

"That's where she'll be in school, after all." Tony shrugged.

"But she couldn't pay for it."

Tony looked over at his son seriously. "No, but I could. Actually I ended up just paying for all of it. It was just over like thirty thousand for the whole year. That wasn't terrible."

"Y-you did? Does she know?"

"Not yet. She will at dinner tonight, though."

Peter tried to catch his breath. He was happy for her. Extraordinarily happy. But that put a wrench in his plans. He had hoped to make it through his first semester before broaching the subject of their previously confessed feelings.

"You need to move up your timeline, Pete. I'd say you should be lucky she's going to a women's college, but isn't she bi?" Tony shot him a look that said _tell her now_.

"Fuck."

"What did I tell you about hanging out with Deadpool?" Tony mocked.

"I haven't been. I've been hanging out with you and Maureen," Peter retorted with a smirk.

"Touché, kid. Touché."

Tony vanished into his lab, leaving Peter to rethink his plan. He'd wanted to tell her for so long, to reiterate his feelings for her. He just hoped she was ready to hear what he had to say.


	11. Chapter 11

So likely this will be the last real chapter. I'm probably going to do an epilogue after this, but that'll be a lot of fun fluff and smut. A fluffersmutter, if you will.

…And I'm now realizing I've been around my husband too long (he loves puns. The worse the pun, the better it is).

Trigger warnings:

Minor gun violence

Mentions of non-con sexual acts

Self deprecating comments related to weight

~*~Two Days Later~*~

Peter dodged a stream of bullets with ease. He shot a strand of web and launched himself into the air.

From his higher position, sticking to a shadowy corner of the bank where he was shielded from bullets, he had a much better vantage point from which to see the three robbers.

"Can you see them, Tony?"

"Yup, got 'em on your cam." Tony was running point from across the street. Normally he wouldn't bother with something so simple, but Fury himself had called after they realized that the robbers weren't after money but were instead after a couple of interesting inventions that an imprisoned scientist had stored at the bank. Fury was busy investigating how no one had realized that the inventions existed at all, while Tony, Maureen, and Peter got busy stopping the would-be robbery.

Eleven hostages were huddled in the center of the bank, all of varying ages. Peter eyed the one woman holding a toddler and let out a nervous breath. They had this.

"Let me know when. I'm good to go," Maureen said over the radio.

"I'm good on my end," responded Peter.

"Alright, go for it." Tony's voice crackled in his ear.

A few seconds later, the skylight above the robbers shattered and Maureen leapt through the opening. As she fell, she threw her hands out to create a wall of fire between the hostages and the robbers and focused some energy to slow her fall.

Peter followed Maureen's lead, leaping from his spot on the ceiling. Webs shot from either hand, yanking the guns from the hands of all three robbers.

Maureen held the fire and slowed even more, gliding downward until she remained levitating a few feet higher than the three criminals.

"We're clear!" Peter shouted. He dropped down by the hostages and motioned for them to leave, herding them out the bank door as quickly as possible.

With a sigh of relief, Maureen manipulated the fire wall so that it became a ring of fire to hold in the three men, and then she let herself float all the way down to the ground.

Then there was chaos. SWAT swooped in, Tony said something in her ear, Peter gave her a thumbs up. But a glint caught her eye and time slowed as she turned and saw the lead robber pull a gun from his waistband and point it at Peter.

"No!" She threw herself at Peter, shoving him out of the way as fire lanced its way across her. But it felt different. It wasn't her fire. She didn't summon it. Didn't send it spiraling through her body. It was an invader. An outside force attacking her.

It wasn't until Peter was falling, his senses clicking back into place, that he realized what had happened. He had been so tired from his lack of sleep, and so busy smiling at Maureen, watching her in her suit and mask, proud of what they'd accomplished, that he hadn't been listening to the voice, the prickle at the back of his neck, that told him something was wrong.

But it was too late. And there was Maureen. And blood.

And then he screamed.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

"Peter, I'm okay. Really," Maureen insisted on the jet ride home.

"Are you sure? Are the pain killers working? Do you want another pillow? Or something to drink?" He fussed with her blanket. "Are you warm enough?"

"Peter," she said forcefully. "The pain killers are fine. My neck can't handle any more pillows. I'm not that thirsty, and I'm plenty warm."

"Are you _too_ warm? I can get rid of the blanket if you-"

"Peter!" Tony shouted from the cockpit to get his attention. "She said she's okay."

The Spiderling settled uneasily into the seat next to her and bounced his leg.

The bullet had grazed a three-inch line along the outside of her upper left arm, taking off a few layers of skin. Her suit jacket had provided enough protection that it had forced it to angle just slightly so that it hadn't pierced her arm. But it could have been a lot worse. And that's what Peter couldn't stop focusing on. It could have gone through her shoulder and shattered bone. Or through a thigh and kept her from riding for months during rehab. Or, it could have killed her.

All because he was so focused on celebrating with her that he hadn't been paying attention to his spidey senses. He was surprised Tony hadn't reamed him out yet, to be honest. He deserved it, no question there.

Maureen leaned back in the reclined seat and closed her eyes. Peter reached over and put his hand over hers. She smiled, her eyes still closed.

_You couldn't help her, Peter. _

_ You just stood there and watched. What kind of superhero are you? _

_ What kind of boyfriend would you be, Peter? _

The Tony from his nightmares echoed in his mind. The nightmares refused to stop. Scenes of Devin or Ezra or Marcos hurting Maureen. Peter unable or unwilling to stop them. Tony chewing him out.

Peter massaged circles with his thumb on the top of Maureen's hand, and tried to rest.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

"Tony?"

"What's up, kid?" Tony stood watching a new suit jacket being made for Maureen.

"Is that one bulletproof?" He ignored his previous thought as he realized what Tony was doing.

"Not quite, but it is stronger. If it were completely bulletproof, it would end up looking more like my Iron Man suits." Tony turned to Peter. "But that's not why you came down here."

"It's my fault. I wasn't paying attention to my spidey sense. I could've gotten out of the way in time, but she had to save me. I failed her." Peter hung his head and waited to be lectured.

"Are you expecting me to yell at you?"

Peter blinked up at Tony. "It's what I deserve."

"No, it's not." Tony placed a hand on Peter's shoulder. "Even if you had sensed it, she would've seen it at the same time you did. She would have already started to move to get you out of the way. So even if you ducked on your own, Maureen would have ended up in the line of fire. It probably saved her that you were there, because the force of the impact against your body shifted her body slightly. If you hadn't been there, she would've been in a different position, a different place in the air. It would have hit elsewhere."

Peter turned the information over in his head.

"And regardless, she is mostly uninjured and you can't live your life focused on the what-ifs."

"I'm scared, Tony," Peter admitted after a pause.

Tony waited for him to continue, knowing it was coming.

"What if after everything that's happened, things have changed? She said before she left that she pretended not to have feelings for me to protect me from Devin. What if I screwed that up for good by betraying her? And what if something happens to her and I don't get to find out if she still cares? Also, sorry for saying all these what-ifs right after you told me not to focus on them."

Tony grabbed a chair and flipped it around, sitting with his chest pressed up against the backrest. He then gestured to a second chair, which Peter accepted quietly.

"I get that you're nervous. And you don't want to be rejected and you don't want to ruin your friendship with her, especially after you thought you'd lost it before. But you both leave soon. She deserves to know that you still have feelings for her. And you deserve to take that chance. And, above all, at the end of the day, she cares about you. Even if it's not in the way you want, there's no question that you're important to her. I don't think anything could change that."

Peter leaned back in the chair, exhausted. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right." He stood, knowing what his next step was. "What would I do without you, Tony?"

Tony smiled. "The same thing you'd do with me. Absolutely everything and anything you want."

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

Maureen winced at the sting as she shifted on the couch. The bowl of popcorn sat on the coffee table where Peter had left it fifteen minutes before, saying he needed to check on a scheduling thing with Tony.

She pursed her lips, contemplating if it was worth moving to grab the bowl, or if she should wait for Peter to come back. Her arm was thoroughly bandaged, but still hurt like hell. She was trying really hard not to take too many pain killers, but at that exact second, she was reconsidering this ill-made decision.

Fortunately for her, and for her tastebuds, Peter crossed back over the threshold, closing the door behind him.

"Ah, excellent timing." She pointed at the bowl and grinned.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to take that long," Peter apologized. He handed her the bowl with a flourish, bowing as if he were her servant.

"You were gone hardly at all. No big. Not like I would've starved to death or anything." She frowned down at her body.

Peter frowned as well, but only after he realized what she meant. He wasn't quite sure how to respond, so instead he approached the subject he'd been rehearsing for the last five minutes in the bathroom down the hall.

"So, I wanted to…um, talk. I mean, we're both leaving for school really soon, and I won't get to see you much, except for like, holidays and then if there are any big missions or whatever. Though, honestly, I'm not sure if Tony will even allow us to go since it would mean missing classes and all."

Maureen wore a confused expression, nodding every so as she tried to figure out what he was attempting to say.

"Look, Maureen. Do you remember that night where we watched the meteors and everything seemed cool and then we kissed and I said we should try to be more than friends?"

This was it. He was going to officially clear the air and make sure she understood that everything was different now. Her stomach filled with lead and suddenly she wished she hadn't turned down the stronger pain medications.

"Peter…I know what you're going to say. And, it's fine. I get it." Might as well beat him to the punch. "I don't blame you. It makes sense, actually. It's probably for the best that you figured it out early on, right? Less damage to our friendship." She strained to smile but found herself wanting to cry instead.

Peter was utterly confused. "Wait. What? That doesn't sound like it fits with what I was going to say."

"You're going to say that you realized that I'm not your type and we're better off friends and you want to make sure we both know that before we leave for school." It took more effort than she had imagined to spit it all out. It hurt trying to act like she agreed.

"That's…is that how you feel?"

Maureen hesitated. He sounded unsure. "Yeah, absolutely." She needed to be okay with it. It was for the best.

"Oh." Peter looked down, away from her gaze.

The two sat, Hulu ads playing in the background.

Tony's voice popped into Peter's head. _She deserves to know that you still have feelings for her. And you deserve to take that chance. _

"Actually, that's not what I was going to say."

Maureen's eyes flicked back over to him. "Okay. What were you going to say?"

"I like you," Peter blurted out. "Like really like you. Not just as a friend. I've wanted to say something for a while, but I didn't know if I'd screwed it all up, but I still have feelings for you. And I want to see if you're free tomorrow night." He was pretty sure his heart was pounding so hard that even Maureen could hear it, despite her lack of enhanced hearing.

Maureen stared at her best friend, unsure if everything she'd just heard was real. Perhaps she was dreaming. Was she having a reaction to the pills? "Peter. Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

"But why?"

"What do you mean? Do you not have feelings for me anymore?" Peter suddenly felt worried and sick.

"Of course I do," Maureen said. "I just don't understand why you have feelings for me."

"Why wouldn't I? You're hilarious, and fun to be around, and you're really pretty. Your laugh is contagious and sounds like music."

"Peter…you're not…joking with me, right?"

He saw tears in her eyes.

"What? No! I would never do something like that." Peter tucked his leg under him and took Maureen's right hand. "I really like you."

"But you know about Ezra. And you know about Devin. You walked in when Marcos was… and you know what I did. You know I was going to give Daniel a blow job and have sex with him for money."

"I'm not going to stop liking you because a bunch of shitty things happened to you. People aren't really like those stupid lectures some people give about how being with multiple people means you are worth less than if you stay with one person your whole life."

"What about the video?" Her voice became a whisper, and she sounded on the edge of tears.

"What about it?" Peter squeezed her hand.

"Which video was it? What happened in it?" She was still quiet, worrying Peter more.

"Reeni, do you really want to know?" He placed his other hand on top of hers, so hers was sandwiched in his.

She nodded, so he took a deep breath and gave her a brief summary.

"You gave Devin a blow job and he had you touch yourself and masturbate and he came on you." It was painful for him to say aloud. While he knew the beginning stages of the trial were coming up and she would have to recount much of what had happened, it wasn't something he wanted to make her think of.

"I'm betting I wasn't wearing anything?" Maureen closed her eyes, dreading the answer.

"No." Peter rubbed her hand gently with both of his. "You weren't."

"So I don't get it."

"Get what?"

"Why you still like me. You saw the video. You saw one of the videos where I don't have clothing covering my body. How could you still like me?" She was struggling not to cry. On top of everything else, she didn't need to cry too.

It struck him suddenly, why she was so confused and so upset. "Do…do you think that I won't like your body?"

The look she gave him rivaled the expression on Tony's face whenever he said something obvious.

"Reeni, you're so incredibly sexy. I felt guilty after watching the video, not just because I did so without your permission, but…" He was hesitant to admit it. "But also because watching you really turned me on. I just kept wishing that it was me with you instead, and that you were there willingly."

She was stunned, trying to take in everything he was saying. "Peter, I probably weigh close to what you weigh. I haven't seen single digit clothes in… like 10 years."

"You have curves. Really sexy curves."

"Did you see the flab? You had to have seen it. Did I bend over at all in the video?"

"Reeni. Stop," he said gently. "You're gorgeous. And I would really love it if I could kiss you right now."

She was speechless. She had no words to react to what Peter had just told her. Deep down, she knew she should be upset about the video, but she was too amazed at the thought that he liked her body.

"Reeni? Is it okay? If I kiss you?"

Still stunned, she gazed up into Peter's eyes and nodded. He smiled and used his thumb to wipe away a tear that had escaped from the corner of her eye. He leaned forward slowly and pressed his lips to hers.

Maureen reveled in the feel of his lips on hers and returned his kiss, savoring the gentleness. She deepened it, ignoring the pain radiating in her arm. Peter lifted one hand off of hers and laid it on her uninjured arm, before he shifted it up her shoulder and cupped the back of her neck.

The butterflies in her stomach fluttered at his touch. She slid her tongue into his mouth, which he responded to in kind. In the excitement, she lifted her left arm to lean further into him, but gasped, ending the kiss.

"Ow, shit!"

"Are you okay?" Peter loosed his hand, but left it resting on her shoulder.

The pain shot up and down her arm into her hand. "Fuck. Yeah, I'm okay."

"Are you able to take more meds?" Peter glanced over at the clock by his bedside. "It's eight now."

She shook her head. "Not until nine, and I'm really trying to stretch it as much as possible. The whole thing with Alec…you know?"

He nodded. "I get it."

Maureen smiled at him, and focused on him rather than on the pain. "We could…try kissing again."

"I won't hurt you?"

Her smile grew. "I'll be okay. We could just shift a little, maybe."

"Okay. Um, how about this?" He untucked his legs and shifted sideways so that he was sitting immediately up against her.

Maureen nodded and shifted as well, tucking her legs to her left so that her body pressed up against Peter's. His arm snaked around her side, hand resting on her hip.

"Is this alright?" He was hesitant to touch her in a way that might trigger memories.

"Yeah." She licked her bottom lip. "It's fine." Carefully, she lifted her right arm and brushed her fingers lightly through his hair.

Peter closed his eyes at the sensation, a sigh pushing past his lips.

She leaned closer and settled against him.

"So you're free then? Tomorrow?" He whispered.

"Well, I'll have to check my schedule, but somehow I think I'll be able to pencil in some time." She smirked.

"Smartass," Peter chuckled.

"That's half of my appeal."

"Oh, I wouldn't say _half_." Peter caressed her cheek lightly with his fingers. "It is definitely a desirable trait. But there is so much about you that just has me… breathless."

The blush that flooded her cheeks made him smile. He leaned down and kissed her again, already looking forward to being able to do that whenever he wanted.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

Peter gasped for air, his eyes flying open. Another one. Another nightmare where he couldn't save Maureen.

No. Not couldn't. Wouldn't.

Devin. And Marcos. And Ezra. All there. All taking turns torturing her. Raping her. And where was Peter? Standing there. Watching it all happen. And this time, he was filming it. Filming it right up until Devin took the camera from him and offered Maureen up to Peter. Like she was a joint for them to pass around.

And he'd accepted. He'd ignored her pleas and he'd taken her right there, filmed by Devin. Cheered on by Ezra and Marcos.

He'd laughed at her tears.

Peter climbed out of bed and headed for the kitchen. He needed coffee. It was going to be a long night.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

Maureen sought Nat out the next day, knowing she regularly trained on her own each morning.

Nat was destroying a punching bag when Maureen practically tiptoed into the room. She thought she was almost silent, but of course, Nat heard her and turned, barely winded, but with sweat dripping down her face.

"Hey. Need something?"

She loved how Nat always cut right to the chase.

"If you're free, or don't mind taking a break? I don't want to interrupt." Maureen gestured to the still swaying bag.

"Sure." Nat grabbed her water bottle and leaned against the wall.

"Um. I know that…we've never really talked about my history in depth. But I know you kind of have an idea about it? You know?" Maureen shuffled over to Nat, stumbling over her thoughts.

Nat put the water bottle down and nodded, her expression becoming more serious, yet kind. She didn't say anything, so Maureen continued on.

"Peter asked me out for tonight."

A smile crept up on Nat's face, prompting Maureen to blush.

"Well, so of course I said yes. But, I don't know how to do this. Like, I dated this one girl back in Virginia, but we only dated for like a month before the explosion. Plus by that point I hadn't…well, Ezra hadn't…" She took a deep breath. "Robyn and I didn't get very far, but I also didn't have…the memory of Ezra or Devin or…" She opted to leave out Marcos from the list. Only Tony knew about that. "How do I…" She paused, frustrated that she didn't know what to say. "What do I do if Peter wants…stuff I can't give him?"

Nat pushed herself off the wall and walked over to Maureen. "Let's go to my rooms and talk."

Maureen nodded and followed the spy out of the training room and across the compound to what only could be described as a mini apartment.

"Would you like some coffee?" She pressed a button to reheat a pot of coffee sitting on the kitchen counter and took a couple of mugs out of a cabinet.

"Only if you have lots of creamer. I'm not a fan of black coffee."

"You'll find some in the fridge. I don't use it often, but it's nice for a treat every once in a while."

"So, while the coffee warms back up…" Nat settled on a barstool at the counter and motioned for Maureen to sit as well.

Maureen grabbed the creamer from the fridge and poured a little into one of the mugs Nat had set out. Then she lifted herself into one of the stools.

"I do have a general idea of what took place previously. And I'm sure you've guessed that my past has had similar experiences."

"I did kind of wonder. I got the impression from Peter that you'd been through some shit. I mean, um, some stuff."

"No need to correct yourself. Unlike Steve, I don't care about the language." She chuckled. "I'm not going to tell you that it's easy getting past something like rape."

Maureen was sort of startled by the word. She'd only said it once aloud since Ezra.

"It's alright to hate saying it. It's an ugly word. An even uglier action. But the word, nor the action, define who you are, and that's one of the things you need to remember in all of this. Have you started therapy back up since returning?"

She nodded. "Three times a week now."

"That will help, but it's definitely not the cure-all. You do have something going for you that I never had."

"What's that?" Maureen had been focused on the clicking of the coffee pot as it heated back up. It was easier to look elsewhere while Nat talked about rape. But now, she looked back at the older woman, curious.

"You have Peter. And it's easy to see how much he cares about you. And Peter is a really sweet young man. I don't think he has it in him to consciously hurt you. Physically, emotionally, mentally. You just need to be upfront with him. Tell him the boundaries. Give him a safe word."

Maureen blushed.

"Not that kind of safe word, sweets. A word that will let him know that something has triggered you and you need space. Or that you need a hug or whatever else will help. Maybe a bowl of ice cream, even. Peter knows what happened. He's still here and he still asked you out. He's not going to stop trying to make you happy and he's not going to judge you for wanting to feel safe."

She knew that Nat was right. There was no reason to doubt Peter. He was… _Peter_ after all.

"But your brain is telling you that something will go wrong, right? That you'll make him unhappy because of something silly? Maybe he'll want sex and you won't? Because he's a guy, and it's expected eventually?" She cocked her head at the young superhero-in-training.

"That's…that's a way to put it, yeah. What happens if like, we're in the middle of…something and then I get triggered and need to stop. It's not…fair to him. He didn't do anything wrong." Maureen glanced over at the coffee pot. She needed to fiddle with something, so she got up and pressed her hand gently to the pot to see if it was warmed up enough to pour.

"You're right, he didn't do anything wrong," Nat agreed.

Maureen's eyes shot up to Nat, confused.

"But," Nat continued, "neither did you. And you don't deserve to re-live your trauma to make someone else happy, or sexually satisfied. I also have the distinct feeling that Peter would hate himself if he thought he was making you put him above your own mental wellbeing."

The coffee maker clicked again, so Maureen tested the temperature and lifted the pot, pouring a cup for her and a cup for Nat. She was turning Nat's words over in her mind.

"Talk to him tonight. Or before tonight, even. It will get better." Nat picked up her mug and sipped. "And you're welcome to come talk to me whenever. I don't mind."

A tear rolled down Maureen's cheek; she swiped it away angrily. She was getting really sick of crying. "Thank you."

"And don't be ashamed to cry," Nat said. "It's not a weakness. It's human."

Maureen grasped her mug tightly and nodded. She could do this.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

It had been a normal first date. They'd gone bowling, during which Maureen had crushed Peter with an average of 130 compared with his average of 99. She had made fun of him over the fact that his two arms were no match for her one good one. Then they'd opted to go to dinner at a local pizzeria where they'd laughed about the look on Tony's face when he'd realized that Steve had accidentally deleted all of _Mythbusters_ from the DVR.

But it was the drive home that had Maureen's stomach in knots.

And it was the elevator ride up to their rooms that had Peter's palms sweating.

They'd already kissed the night before, so it was a given that it would happen again. They'd actually made out for a good half an hour, before the pain and exhaustion had gotten to Maureen and she'd gone back to her room to sleep, a bit afraid of hurting her arm if they shared a bed. She'd also been concerned that sleeping in the same bed was a weird gray area now that they were dating. Before, it had been two friends protecting each other from nightmares. But now? Things had shifted and expectations were different.

Maureen still hadn't talked to Peter. Instead, she was going to wing it. It was still the first date, so she figured she had some time before she had to worry about creating the safe word Nat had suggested.

Now that they were headed up to their rooms, though, she was beginning to get nervous. Was he going to ask her back to his room? And if he did ask her back to his room, would it be the normal nightly ritual of the movie, or would it be with the expectation that something was going to happen?

Peter contemplated his options as they walked down the hall. He wanted her to come back to his room, because regardless of what they did, he wanted to spend more time with her, but he was concerned that she would think he was just trying to get into her pants or something. Should he clarify? Or did she just assume that she was going back to his room with him?

The two both slowed as they came to Peter's bedroom. Maureen, out of nervousness and to gauge whether he wanted her to come back with him, and Peter, out of the hope that she would want to come back with him.

They stopped at his closed door and stood awkwardly facing each other.

"Do you want to hang out some more?" Peter motioned to his room. "We could watch a movie. Or I downloaded a bunch of old Nintendo games." Tony had created a game system that allowed them to download and play games from any system, past or present. So far they'd downloaded so many games they hadn't had the opportunity to actually figure out what was worth playing.

"Uh, sure." Maureen swallowed in an attempt to rid herself of the pit that had developed in her stomach from nervousness.

The silence, which was usually companionable and comfortable, was awkward and heavy. It held excitement, nervousness, and above all: possibilities.

Maureen settled into her usual spot while Peter perused his DVD and Blu Ray collection. "Which one sounds more appealing right now: _Dirty Dancing _or _Princess Bride_?"

"Let's go with _Dirty Dancing_. I haven't seen that one in years."

Peter slipped in the DVD and took his place on the couch. Maureen would normally have settled immediately into his arms, but tonight it seemed off to press into him like a pillow. That had been the action of a friend. But she wasn't just a friend tonight.

Instead, she sat nervously, hands in her lap and legs stretched out in front of her. She was at least thankful that she'd caved and asked for a slightly stronger pain medication earlier. It wasn't enough to make her tired, but it was enough that her arm wasn't constantly aching.

Next to her, Peter also sat a little stiffer than usual. He wanted to put his arm around her, but there was an underlying tone now that hadn't been there before. He wanted her comfortable, and that meant he wasn't going to make any assumptions that she wanted his arm around her.

They sat that way for a while, occasionally laughing or talking about scenes from the movie. They were silent, though, as Baby showed up to Johnny's cabin and kissed him, falling into his arms with a grace and sensuality that made both of their heartrates speed up. Peter glanced over at Maureen, the urge growing to lean her back on the couch and kiss her all over.

Maureen saw Peter looking at her through her peripheral vision. Her nervousness was waning, replaced instead by a desire to kiss Peter the way Baby was kissing Johnny on the screen.

Hesitantly, Peter reached around Maureen and rested his hand on her left hip. He was relieved when she leaned into him and put a hand on his thigh. They caved and looked over at each other, leaned in, and kissed slowly.

The kiss deepened and became more urgent. Peter rested his free hand on her cheek, desperate to feel more of her skin against his. Maureen responded by moving her hand from his thigh to his chest. She caressed him through his shirt, in awe of the feel of his muscles. Though she'd felt his muscles when they were curled up together, it had never been sexual before. Now she took it all in, memorizing the shape of him.

The movie forgotten, Peter pressed himself closer to Maureen, her hand on his chest driving him mad. Maureen turned her body entirely towards him now, pulling her right leg up onto the couch to face Peter.

With a slow but fluid movement, Peter leaned Maureen down onto her back, giving her enough space to stretch her legs out in front of her. Once she was comfortable, he lowered himself on top of her. She reached down his torso and clasped the hem of his shirt, pulling it upward. He propped himself up just enough to help her in removing it, and then he settled back against her.

The kissing grew more heated as Peter reached one hand down to the hem of her shirt. His hand hovered for a moment, uncertain, but then slipped up and under her top and rested on her smooth skin. He waited to see if she would stop him, but once he found no resistance, his hand glided upwards and laid itself on her right breast. With gentle skill, he lifted her breast out of the bra cup and rubbed his thumb across her nipple. She gasped as it sent a jolt of electricity down through her body. Pleased by the sound she made, Peter continued his massaging, both of the nipple and of the breast.

Maureen moaned against his mouth, too distracted by the sensation to focus on kissing him. Peter took the hint and removed his hand from her breast so he could help her take off her shirt. As soon as the shirt was off and on the floor next to them, he reached under her and skillfully unhooked her bra. She lifted up to let the straps fall loose. The bra joined the shirt and he paused, propping himself on his elbows to take in the sight of her topless.

"God, Maureen, you are so beautiful," he whispered.

She blushed and looked away from him, embarrassed by the compliment.

He lowered himself down again; the feel of his bare chest against her breasts made him stiffer than he had been seconds before. He groaned at the rush. She leaned up and kissed him, wrapping her arms around his bare back.

Surprising her, he sat back up, the burst of cold air against her nipples sudden and unwanted. But within seconds he was lowering himself down again, this time to take one of her nipples into his mouth. She moaned deeply as he licked around the bud, tracing around the edge with his tongue. He opened his mouth wider and sucked gently on the nipple and surrounding breast. Her vagina hummed at the touch, twitching ever so slightly at the sensation. He continued his task and reached with his hand to massage the other nipple, gently pulling and rubbing.

Maureen ground her crotch against his, the feel of his erection clear through his jeans. Wanting to please him as he was pleasing her, she snaked her hands between them and unzipped his fly. With one hand, she pulled his erection out, still covered by his boxers. Peter moaned against her skin. He propped himself up more and pulled away from her so he could look down at her and down at the hand that was massaging him through the thin cotton boxers.

His erection twitched at the sight of her rubbing him, her hand wrapped around him, twisting delicately upward and then back down.

It was just a flash. Just a quick second in which Peter wasn't Peter. It was there and then gone. It threw off her rhythm, but she recovered it quickly. She wasn't going to let _him_ ruin this. Nat's advice echoed in her mind, but she shoved it away. She didn't want to stop this to talk about triggers. She wanted his lips everywhere. She wanted to press her lips everywhere on him. She wanted it to be perfect.

Peter felt the hesitation, but his concern evaporated as she gazed up at him, eyes full of longing, and continued her massage. He stilled her hand for a moment and lifted her just enough to maneuver them both so that they were lying side by side on the small couch, Maureen on her right side to keep her injured side free, and Peter on his left, sandwiched up against the back of the couch. Maureen repositioned her hand immediately, teasing the tip of his cock before tracing a finger lightly down the underside and back up. Peter took advantage of the new position to undo the button and zipper on her jeans. His fingers stole between her jeans and her panties, brushing against her folds, the softness of her underwear rubbing against her.

He was there again. Next to her, touching her and telling her how lucky she was that he wanted someone like her. She halted her rubbing, trying desperately to ground herself. It wasn't Devin. It was Peter. She _wanted_ this.

Peter frowned at the way her body tensed, at the panicked pause, at the way her eyes briefly glazed over, fear flashing through them. He yanked his hand away and placed it instead on her shoulder.

"Reeni?"

She had already snapped back, recovering at the absence of Peter's fingers.

"I'm okay." Maureen moved to continue massaging his erection.

He gently took her wrist and stopped the motion. "We don't have to do anything else."

"No, I'm fine," she insisted.

Peter gave her a skeptical look. "Really. I'm happy just making out with you. That's plenty. I didn't even plan for that to happen tonight. I just wanted it to be something romantic."

She considered the gorgeous, muscular man who was sandwiched between her and the couch cushions. In the back of her head, she heard Nat: _you don't deserve to re-live your trauma to make someone else happy, or sexually satisfied._ But here, now, looking at him? She needed to keep him happy. How else would she keep him interested?

"I want to do this. I promise."

He finally relented and let go of her wrist. Maureen picked right back up, pumping him gently.

Peter groaned and returned his hand to her folds. His fingers drifted upward and traced the waistband of her panties. Slowly, he pushed his fingers under the band and downward. His erection jumped as his fingers brushed against her soft curls and slipped in between her legs. She was already soaking wet.

Maureen's mind flew to a million places all at once. She was there with Peter, in awe of what was happening, but she was also with Ezra, trapped under him in a barn. She was with Devin, helpless and hopeless. She was with Marcos, a hand holding her silent.

She cried out and let go of Peter, pushing his hand away and leaping off the couch.

Peter's stomach dropped. Why had he let her keep going? He should have known to just halt it altogether. He'd become the Peter from his nightmare.

Peter followed her off the couch.

It wasn't until several seconds later that she realized where she was, now crouched on the floor, topless with undone jeans and a shirtless Peter sitting next to her, pleading with her to come back to him.

"Maureen? Reeni? It's okay. It's Peter. You're in my room. We're by the couch. You're safe."

"Peter?"

He sighed in relief. "Yeah. It's me."

"I'm so sorry. Oh my god, I'm so sorry." She closed her eyes, feeling like an idiot. If only she could just disappear.

"Hey, there is no reason to feel sorry. I should've known better. That was my fault. I'm the one who should feel sorry." Peter tucked himself back into his pants and zipped them before grabbing his shirt from the floor and pulled it over his head. Then he handed Maureen her bra and shirt so she could get dressed as well.

Maureen accepted her clothes gratefully, did her jeans back up, and opted to just slip the shirt on and leave her bra to the side.

"It's not your fault," she said. "I should've listened to Nat. I was stupid."

"Listened to Nat?"

"It's nothing. Nevermind." Maureen pushed herself off the floor and sat back on the couch. Peter joined her, a concerned look etched onto his face.

"Reeni, you can tell me stuff. I was really hoping that by the end of the night I would be able to introduce you as my girlfriend…" Peter drifted off for a second, nervous. "And if that comes to fruition, we need to be able to tell each other things. And really up until recently we were kind of already doing that, just without an exclusive title. Please let me in."

Her heart leapt at his confession. "I went to Nat to ask her advice. I had a feeling that she'd also been…raped. I wanted to ask her how she handles it now. How she separates out the memories from the times she's with a person she wants."

It clicked into place for Peter. It would make sense she would go to Nat after having suffered such a trauma. "What did she say?"

"That we needed to talk about it and make up a safe word for when I was starting to get triggered. And that it would take time, but that you would never want to hurt me. She also said that I shouldn't make myself re-live the trauma so I can please someone else." Maureen avoided his eyes and looked down at the floor instead.

"Nat's a very smart woman," Peter said. "And she's right. On all of it, really, but she's really spot on about the fact that you shouldn't worry about pleasing me, or anyone else for that matter, if it means you have to re-live that stuff." He reached his hand over towards her but stopped. "Is it okay if I hold your hand?"

She nodded, appreciative of his understanding.

"Reeni," said Peter, taking her hand in his. He was asking her to look at him. He didn't need to say it; she knew it was what he wanted. She turned to look up at him.

"I care about you. _A lot_. And I don't want to hurt you. I also don't want you to hurt yourself because you think that sex or fooling around is the only thing that would make me happy. Please don't sacrifice yourself for me."

She squeezed his hand lightly. "Okay. I will tell you from now on if I'm struggling or feeling like I'm flashing back. What word should I use?"

"What's a word we'd never say in casual conversation or, um, intimate moments?"

The two considered for a minute, running through possible word choices.

"What about arrow?" Peter suggested. "It'll be easy for you to remember, because of your love for Merida. It would be simple enough for you to purposely slip into a conversation if you want me to understand, but not anyone else. And I can't imagine we would say it… at other times." He blushed a little.

"Arrow. Okay. I got it." Maureen gave him a weak smile.

Peter slipped his other arm around her shoulder. "Since we're being honest…"

Maureen's stomach dipped.

"You know the nightmares I've been having?"

"The ones about Skip? Or the ones about Thanos?" She craned her face to look up at him.

"Well, both technically. I haven't really been having that many nightmares about them. A lot of my nightmares have actually been about something different. They've been…about you."

"About me?" She repeated.

"They're different each time, but still focused on you, yes. Like in a couple you're still in the city, and we get a call that you've been killed and Tony blames me because you left. But in a lot of them I'm there, seeing you with…with one of them. Marcos, or Devin, or Ezra. At least, what I imagine Ezra to look like. Or sometimes with two of them, or all three. And they're hurting you, but I don't do anything about it. I just sit there. And you keep asking me for help, but I don't."

Maureen hadn't reacted. She still sat, taking it all in.

"But the worst one was last night. I dreamt that Devin had me film them. And then he took the camera a-and gave me a turn." Peter looked away from her for a second. Instead of returning his gaze to her, he looked down to finish. "And I did it. I raped you. You just kept begging me to stop and…I'm so scared that I'm going to hurt you, Reeni. Just now I was terrified. I should've stopped before it got to this point. I'm so sorry."

"Peter, if I asked you to stop, would you?"

"Of course. In a heartbeat. Safe word or not, just tell me to stop and I will."

"Then that tells me everything I need to know. You're probably having the nightmares because you feel guilty about Devin. But I don't blame you. Not at all. Even the nightmares I was having about Devin wouldn't have tipped you off, because I easily blamed them on Ezra. I'm sure at some point you comforted me for one or more of those nightmares and I just let you assume they were related to Ezra. I could've said something at any time, but I didn't. There's no blame here."

Peter leaned his forehead against hers. "I never want to see you get hurt again. Ever."

"Then I may have to reconsider this invitation to join the Avengers." Her tone was light and playful.

"Well, I have heard that Spider-man guy is pretty amazing, so there's a pro. As far as a con goes, there are rumors that Iron Man goes off on people for the smallest details. Like deleting things from the DVR."

The couple laughed, their spirits and burdens lightened.

"Wanna rewind the movie a little and keep watching?" Peter suggested.

"Actually, you wanna play one of those Nintendo games?"

Peter grinned. "Absolutely."

They settled back in on the couch in their usual spots, both of them happy that it felt just slightly different than it had before.


	12. Chapter 12

So I realized that I only briefly mentioned Happy, so in my headcanon, he took a vacation after May's death, and then came back and Tony gave him some other easier job since he kept getting into stressful situations (See: Far From Home). So he's around, just not currently present in this fic.

FLUFFERSMUTTER

And it was decreed that there shall be the fluff and the smut! And there was fluff and smut, and it was good.

Warnings for all the sexiness ahead. Not trigger-y, just… NSFW. 😉

There may be brief mentions of non-con, however, as I wrap up a couple of plot points.

This is the final chapter of this story, but I already have plot bunnies hopping around for a sequel, because otherwise it would mean I would have to spend my summer off doing something productive like work on my novel. 😊 Enjoy!

Maureen shivered in the cold air as she stepped off Tony's jet onto the staircase.

"Holy shit, it's freezing!" She shouted to Tony, who stood waiting for her on the tarmac. "And there's snow! Like, everywhere!"

Tony laughed at her, "That's what happens when you leave the south and come back to New York."

She laughed with him, stepping from the stairs. "Hey, I was in the mountains, so we had snow too. It was just there and gone in like two days."

Tony leaned down and pulled her into a tight hug. Though he had just seen her for Thanksgiving, he had missed her laugh. Maureen had become like a second daughter to him, and Pepper swore up and down that he would one day end up calling her his daughter-in-law because of Peter.

"I thought Peter was getting home before me?" She scanned the runway with confusion.

"He actually just got in, so I made him stay at the compound and unpack." Tony flawlessly ran through the lie Peter had given him. Peter had been home for about an hour but had to wait behind so the surprise had had planned for his girlfriend would work. "I don't need you two wrecking the place in the month you're going to be home."

Maureen stuck her tongue out at him as they walked towards the car that awaited them. "I'm not the one who _literally_ climbs the walls, thank you very much."

"No, but I do seem to recall having to get scorch marks removed from my training room," Tony shot back.

"At least it was just the training room! I mean, that's why the room exists, right?" She smirked. The weekly phone calls home just weren't enough. She had desperately missed her new family.

"Just because they exist to train does not mean they need to look like shit, is all I'm sayin."

The pair laughed as they climbed into the car and drove the half of a mile to the main living section of the compound.

As they pulled up to the compound, Maureen stepped out of the car, trying not to seem overly anxious. She started to walk towards the trunk, but stopped, seeing Tony's new driver removing her bags for her.

"Still not used to having someone get your bags for you, I see," said Tony.

"I may never get used to it." She shrugged and walked through the doors, the blast of heat a relief. "Ah, warmth."

"Why not just light yourself on fire to keep warm?" Tony chuckled.

"That just seems irresponsible, Tony," she teased. "And requires a lot of energy too."

"So you planning on going up to see your beau, now? I think you've dawdled with me long enough that it won't seem like you're too anxious." He winked.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She said nonchalantly. Maureen smiled at him, her tone serious. "But I have really missed you."

"I know. I missed you too." He wondered for a moment when he'd become such a softie but dismissed the thoughts. He enjoyed it too much to care.

"I'll see you at dinner?" She asked, finger hovering over the elevator button.

"Absolutely. Pepper has some big meal planned, so just a forewarning. Most of the team will be there."

She pushed the button, and the doors flew up. "So be on time. Got it."

Tony teased as the doors closed, "And don't forget to use protection!"

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

Peter's door was closed, but a note was taped to it.

_Reeni –_

_ Put on your riding clothes and meet me at Merida's stable. _

_ -Peter _

She frowned. The stable? She had asked him numerous times to go riding, but he had deferred each time. It had taken a month before he had admitted he was scared of horses.

Her bags had already been put in her room (how did he get up here so fast?), so she unzipped her suitcase, found her favorite winter riding breeches, and got dressed in a rush. The heels of her boot thudded as she jogged down the hall, excited for what she would find.

Levitating most of the way to avoid crunching through the snow, Maureen dropped to the ground just outside the stable. "Peter?"

The stable door creaked open slowly, revealing Peter, dressed in riding breeches, boots, and a long-sleeved polo shirt. In his arms, was a riding helmet. All looked brand new.

"Wh-what's going on?" She asked, stunned by his appearance. "And how are you not freezing in that shirt?"

"Oh, I am, don't worry. But I wanted you to see it before I pulled my coat back on." He jogged over to her, slightly awkward in his large boots, and kissed her deeply before pulling her into a hug. "God, I've missed you so much."

"I missed you too." His arms were warm, despite his lack of winter apparel. It felt right being there, in his arms. She almost didn't want to move, but her curiosity got the better of her. She pulled back and looked him up and down. "You're dressed for riding…"

"Mmhmm."

"Does…that mean that… you're going to ride?" She raised her eyebrows in question.

"So, you know how you've been asking me to let you teach me how to ride for a while now?"

She nodded, "Uh huh."

"Well I decided that I needed to get over my fear, so that I could actually come out with you. I started taking lessons at a place near MIT in October." Peter blushed a little.

"Oh my god, Peter. That's…" She fought back tears. Damn her inability to not cry. "That's the sweetest thing anyone's ever done for me. Thank you."

"I'm not really _that_ good yet. The first two lessons were spent with me trying to figure out how to deal with a giant animal. I just started learning how to cantor, so we probably can't like go crazy and run off into the woods or anything, but… I'll get there."

"Well, since we'll have to switch back and forth on Merida, it would be difficult to gallop off anyway. We could ride together very briefly, but I don't want to do that too long because that's a lot of weight for her to carry. Especially considering the food I was fed at school…" She frowned at her stomach.

"Hey, whoa. What did I say about that?" Peter put a hand on her cheek.

"Right. Sorry. My body is gorgeous and sexy and Peter loves the way it feels beneath his hands." She turned bright red every time she said it. A week after they'd started dating, Peter had written her a long list of everything he loved about her, including detailed reasons related specifically to her body. Now, each time she said something negative about her body, she had to repeat the mantra. Maureen would never admit it to him, but it had actually started to make her believe that she was attractive and should be proud of her body.

"Yes, I absolutely do." His voice dropped low and he winked at her before returning to his voice's natural register. "I actually have a solution for that too." He motioned for her to follow him into the stable.

Next to Merida, in the second horse stall, was a horse she had never seen before.

"Peter? Did you buy another horse?"

"Actually, Tony did. He said consider it an early Christmas present from him and Pepper and Morgan. Morgan picked him out."

"What's his name?"

Peter chuckled as he answered, "Ember's Spark."

"Seriously? He came with a fire-related name?" She stroked his muzzle, whispering happy greetings.

"It was probably half the reason Morgan picked him, honestly."

"I could see that. Hi, Ember. How are you, sweet boy?" She cooed.

"So, you ready?" Peter grinned. "I even learned how to tack him myself. I kind of had to since that's like the first lesson."

"Regardless, I'm impressed." She grabbed Merida's tack. "Let's see how you do, Parker."

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

It turned out that Peter was better than Maureen had expected, but obviously still pretty hesitant. They rode for over an hour, returning sweaty and exhausted to the stable. Ember was a calm horse, easily controlled, which was perfect for Peter. Maureen grinned at Merida. She was much more spirited like her owner.

The two walked hand-in-hand back to the compound, leaving tracks through the snow behind them. Peter glanced back and laughed as the four tracks occasionally became two, Maureen having levitated a few times as she'd joked around with him.

"I need a shower." Maureen wiped some sweat from her temple and shoved a few wet strands of hair out of her face.

"Yeah, same." Peter stepped off the elevator, and shook his curls so sweat flew off onto Maureen.

She made a noise of disgust.

A thought crossed Maureen's mind as they neared their rooms. She and Peter had taken things slowly. Only at Thanksgiving had she gone down on him, and he on her. It had been punctuated with leisurely caresses and reassuring words. But it was another step closer to aid in Maureen feeling healed of the trauma that hung over her.

"How about… we shower together?" She whispered, cautious in case anyone was in the main living area down the hall from them.

Peter felt his breath hitch in excitement. "U-uh, yeah. Okay."

She smiled. "I'll go grab a change of clothes and my shampoo. I'll be right back." She kissed him on the cheek and vanished into her room.

Peter was shirtless, the water running to warm up, by the time she returned.

Maureen pulled her shirt off as she entered the bathroom, her breasts almost spilling over her bra cups.

"Did I mention how much I've missed you?" Peter settled his hands on her hips.

"A couple of times, yes," she said coyly.

Peter reached behind her and swung the door closed. With a quick flick of his wrist, her bra unhooked. She let it fall to the ground before stepping into his arms, breasts pressing up against his bare skin. He leaned down and kissed her shoulder, causing her to shudder in pleasure at his touch.

"I…I'm still not ready yet…for sex. If that's okay?"

"You don't have to ask, Maureen. You never have to ask me permission for your boundaries." He kissed her lips softly. "I love you."

Maureen's heart leapt at his words. They'd both been hesitant to exchange 'I love yous,' but she more so. It had been a long time since she'd heard those words. Gran had never said it, and neither had Alec. Her family had never been straightforward with emotion. Only her mother had been transparent when it came to her feelings.

"You don't have to say it back. I just…I've just been thinking about it a lot. I wanted you to know." Peter offered.

"I love you, too," she replied. She'd known for a while, so why deny it? It was time she cast aside her doubts and opened up to Peter.

He drew a sharp breath in. He hadn't expected her to respond. "Really?"

"I can't begin to describe how much I love you. How much I love everything about you. You're my favorite."

"I'm your favorite?" A crooked half-smile grew on his face.

"Yeah. You're my favorite. My favorite friend. My favorite kisser. My favorite person. My favorite." She kissed him and placed her hands on his pants. "The hot water is going to run out."

"This is an excellent observation. We should do something about that." He slid his pants down, her hands remaining on his waist. "Especially since this shower will probably take a while…"

"Hmm…I feel similarly."

She pushed the lock on the bathroom door and smiled.

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

**~*~THREE WEEKS LATER: CHRISTMAS EVE~*~**

Little of the team stayed around for Christmas. Steve left to visit Bucky, who was helping in Wakanda with some security needs as new ambassadors were welcomed. Nat and Bruce opted to go on vacation in Hawaii, both claiming they weren't big on the holiday and preferred relaxation elsewhere. Peter and Maureen exchanged glances. They'd taken bets on when Nat and Bruce would finally start dating and Maureen's deadline was coming up.

Pepper and Tony had taken Morgan to visit Pepper's family earlier in the month but were back by Christmas Eve morning.

"Anything planned for tonight?" Maureen sipped her coffee as Pepper made herself some breakfast.

"Not really, no. We usually watch a couple of Christmas movies before bed, and Morgan still likes to put out cookies for Santa, but that's it. Did you have any traditions you wanted to do?" Pepper sprinkled some more cheese on her eggs and folded them over.

"Alec and I used to sit outside with hot chocolate well past my bedtime to watch for Santa. It was actually pretty funny, because by the time I lived with them neither of us believed in him. But I think both of us desperately wanted something to believe in. Alec stopped getting along with Gran around the time my mom died and I moved in. At least, that's what he said. I think Gran sort of shut down when Mom died because she felt guilty that she'd never made amends with her daughter who had eloped with this musician. Even after my dad ran off, Gran never forgave my mom for leaving. I don't think she realized what a mistake it was until after the fire. So Alec and I stuck together."

Pepper slid her omelet onto a plate and sat at the table across from Maureen. "Well I'm sure if you wanted to sit and watch for Santa, Peter would be more than happy to accompany you. And we have plenty of hot chocolate. Morgan would probably love to join as well, unless… you wanted it to be just you and Peter?" She winked at the younger girl.

Maureen took another sip of coffee. "Well…actually, I kind of…wanted your advice if you're not weirded out by this?"

Pepper and Maureen had grown closer as Tony had pulled her in to the Avengers team. Though she still sought Nat out for most of her advice, she had no issues going to Pepper too.

"I'm married to Iron Man and live in a compound with a team of superheroes. I got past weird a long time ago. What's up?"

"Well… Peter and I are pretty serious now. I'm sure you've noticed. And we've talked about having sex…" Maureen's voice dropped to a whisper. While she knew Morgan talked Tony into borrowing Merida and Ember for a Christmas Eve ride, and Peter was coming back from his pre-Christmas patrol in the city, she felt like someone somewhere would hear her if she talked at a normal volume.

"And you're thinking that it'll happen in the next couple of days?" Pepper finished.

Maureen nodded sheepishly. "He's given me complete power over when it happens. Like, neither of us are virgins, that's a known fact. Oh, wait. Did you know that about Peter? Like I know you know about Skip but Skip didn't… but did you know about MJ? I hope I didn't just give away his secret."

Pepper dismissed it with a wave of her fork. "You're good. He told Tony and well, Tony doesn't keep much from me. Tony didn't need to tell me anyway. The day it happened Peter came home with his shirt inside out and a permanent blush on his face. It was pretty soon after he'd moved in with us following May's death, so I think he was still getting used to being here on top of having lost his virginity."

"Okay, good. I'm glad I didn't tell you things you didn't already know. The thing is… he's had sex with someone he cared for. I…haven't. I'd barely even fooled around with anyone before Ezra raped me. This whole being sexually involved with someone for fun thing is still sort of new. While I'm better now with my triggers, and I don't think I'll have any flashbacks since I'm so used to Peter's touch, I just… I'm not saying this very well. What if I have to tell him to stop? What if he's comparing me to MJ?"

Pepper swallowed a bite of her food. "I get it. It's a lot to process, particularly if it's technically your first time. And, yes, it is technically your first time. It should be the one you think of in the future. The one you reminisce about. I doubt Peter will compare you to MJ, and not just because they didn't have sex more than a few times. And if you start to flashback and need to stop, I don't think Peter is going to be upset."

She hadn't had a flashback since October, when she went to visit Peter at MIT over her fall break. It hadn't been anything major, but it was enough that she'd had to stop and put her clothes on and curl up to cry. She'd promised Peter that she was going to give him a blow job over break. She'd sworn she was ready. But then she was back in the room with Daniel, his hand on her wrist as she tried to back out. Peter had been surprised that the flashback was one that focused on Daniel instead of Devin, but she had understood it. She still felt dirty for going there in the first place, and she still had moments where she wanted to question Peter about why he hadn't judged her for her decision to sell herself.

Devin had ultimately decided on a plea deal, which bought him a grand total of two years in prison and registration as a sex offender. Tony had smashed equipment in his lab after they'd heard. Two years hadn't been enough in his eyes, but between the guilty plea and the fact that he didn't actually release any videos to the public, it was all the judge would do. Maureen was still coming to terms with it, as was Peter. She knew there was a restraining order in place so that as soon as he stepped foot out of jail she would remain protected, but it seemed like an injustice that she would live the rest of her life with trauma, while he sat in jail for only two years. The closure had helped with the flashbacks though.

"But his first time with MJ was probably perfect. If I flashback and have to stop…" Maureen trailed off, feeling stupid.

"You're afraid he'll see your first time together as not as good. I get it. Peter loves you. I didn't need Tony to tell me that you two had exchanged 'I love yous' for me to know that. Don't stress yourself out about it, Maureen."

"Thanks, Pepper."

"So does this mean I need to keep Morgan preoccupied tonight?"

"Um, if you wouldn't mind? That would be kind of awkward." Maureen stood and placed her now-empty mug into the dishwasher. "And, would you possibly not mention this to Tony? I already sort of feel weird that someone else knows what Peter and I might be doing later."

"No problem. My lips are sealed. And if you're interested, I have a small collection of candles I could loan you."

Maureen smiled. "That would be great."

**~*~MARVEL~*~**

Peter and Maureen sat on the roof, a thermos of hot chocolate in front of them, and twin mugs in their hands. They were pressed against each other, a large blanket wrapped around them as they stared up at the sky.

"Given everything that our world has seen in the last decade, I feel like Santa is more likely now. I think I believe in him more now than I did as a kid."

"That's true. Especially if Santa were actually an alien. Think of the powers he would have to get from place to place. Or maybe Santa is a group of mutants. All of the elves have the ability to make things out of thin air, like toys, and Santa has the ability to blink anywhere in the world." Peter shivered a little and drew the blanket closer.

"You cold? Because there's an easy fix for that…" Maureen relaxed and focused her breathing for a minute. Her body hummed with energy, radiating heat within the blanket.

"That feels amazing! I didn't know you could do that. Why not just keep yourself warm like that instead of using coats?"

"It's hard to keep up for a long period. Better to just use it as a quick warm up." She let go and the energy dissipated.

Peter glanced at his watch. "It's almost ten. Maybe we should go inside so you don't have to keep powering up for us to be warm."

Maureen's stomach flipped. Was she one hundred percent certain she wanted to do this? "Yeah, sounds good. I'm gonna go get dressed for bed."

By the time she was in her room, she was torn between wanting to throw up and wanting to say the hell with it and just go next door and jump in his arms naked.

With skillful movements, Maureen flitted through the room and lit what ended up being about fifteen candles before she flicked off the lamp. She turned the covers down on her bed and flipped the switch on the wax warmer, complete with a fresh cinnamon wax melt. Finally, she slipped off her clothes and pulled on the only thing she found in her wardrobe that was suitable: the laciest pair of black panties she owned with the matching bra.

Now to get Peter here. She climbed onto her bed and texted him.

_Hey, I'm trapped in my bathroom cuz there's a huge spider hanging just outside on the floor. Come save me? _

His response came almost immediately: _There's an irony here that Spider-man is coming to save you from a spider, but sure. Be right there. _

Had she not been so nervous, she would have laughed. But her lack of clothing made her feel strange, like she was on display. More than ever, she was grateful that the bed was far enough away from the room's door that there was no direct line of sight. Peter would have to walk in to see her. Just in case Pepper didn't know to keep Morgan away from their rooms tonight, this made Maureen feel certain no one would walk by and see her lying on the bed awaiting Peter.

Moments later, the door burst open. "I'll save you!" Peter leapt into the room with a flourish and a dramatic pose. He froze when he saw the lights off and candles flickering throughout the room.

"Reeni?" He closed the door behind him and ventured further into the room.

The expression on his face was worth all of the nervousness soaring through her.

"Hey." She wondered if she'd sounded sexy or just awkward.

"H-hi." Peter stuttered.

"I hope this is okay?" There was a moment of worry. Fear plagued her. What if he didn't want to have sex with her?

"Um, yeah. Yeah, this…this is fine." He walked slowly to her bed. "Does this mean what I think it means?"

Maureen nodded. "I'm ready. I wanted it to be special."

Peter held up one finger. "I should go lock the door. One second." He dashed across the room, clicked the lock on the door, and flew back, barely out of breath. He sat on the bed next to her. "Reeni, it's special because it's with you. I feel sort of silly now."

She sat up from the hopefully-sexy position she'd been propped in. "What? How come?"

"Oh, no, nothing you did. I just feel like I should've been the one to do the candles and the nice smelling wax thing and everything. I should've done this for you." He looked at her regretfully.

"Peter, you've done everything for me. I owe you so much for the kindness and the patience and the love that you've shown me. This is the least I could do."

He leaned over and kissed her slowly. "It's easy to show you all of those things. I want to, because I love you so much." After another kiss, he lifted his shirt over his head and dropped it over the edge of the bed.

Maureen lied back on the bed, Peter covering her with his body as he kissed her sweetly and gently.

"You know, I think in terms of percentage of skin showing, you have some catching up to do right now, good sir." Maureen quipped.

"I do believe that's correct, ma'am." He winked and rid himself of the pajamas pants he'd been wearing, revealing a pair of fitted boxer briefs.

They gazed at each other for a moment, taking it all in.

"I love you," Maureen stroked Peter's cheek lovingly.

"I love you too."

Peter kissed his way down Maureen's body, pausing at the places that he knew would drive her crazy: her neck, her breasts, along the waistband of her panties, the inside of her thigh. As he kissed, he unhooked her bra and lifted it off her, holding and massaging her breasts with reverence. His fingers traced over her panties; she could feel how wet she was already becoming and it sent a pleasurable shudder through her.

With a graceful move, he slid her panties down her legs, and gently spread her legs open. His mouth was on her then, his tongue lapping up her juices and teasing her swollen clit.

Maureen let out a deep, throaty moan. Peter hummed in approval and dipped downward, pushing his tongue just barely into her vagina. The first time he'd gone down on her she had been almost overwhelmed at the sensation. It was one thing she'd never experienced at all, regardless of whether she'd consented or not. So, of course, it was one of her favorite things to do with Peter. It belonged all to him, and no one else. And he vowed to take advantage of that as often as he could.

As he licked and sucked, he dipped a finger into her, pleased at the gasp of pleasure she let out. Two more fingers joined and pushed their way as far back as they could go, curling into a hook to press and rub against the spongy nub hidden away. He picked up his pace, rubbing with one hand while he tormented her clit with his tongue.

"Oh my god, Peter," she gasped. "Peter. I'm gonna…"

He rubbed faster and pushed his thumb against her clit, sending her over the edge with a muffled cry.

Peter pushed himself back up the bed and propped himself up on one elbow next to her.

"You're going to wear me out before we even have sex," she said.

"Then let's take a break."

"It's fine. I'll be okay." She glanced down at his tented boxers. "Besides, it looks like you could use some relief too."

Peter groaned as she took him in hand through his boxers and rubbed him gently. She paused to reach down with both hands and tug his boxers down his legs. Maureen moved to slip down and take him into her mouth, but he stopped her.

"Not tonight."

"You don't want me to?"

"Oh, I do, very much. But not only are you really good at that and I want to last long enough to enjoy sex with you, but I want this to be more about you than me."

There was never a moment that he didn't surprise her. "I want you to enjoy it too, though."

He snorted. "Trust me, I will enjoy it too."

She flushed red for a minute. "Okay."

Peter lifted himself up and over her, aligning his body with hers.

"You're absolutely sure you want to?" Peter asked, studying her expression. "Because it's okay if you don't want to."

"I'm absolutely sure. I want you to be the first one that _I_ choose. You're going to be my first. Not anyone else."

He traced a finger down her neck and around her shoulder. "If you want me to stop at _any time_, just tell me."

A sense of safety and love flooded Maureen. "Okay."

Peter leaned down and took her lips with his as he lined himself up and pressed the tip of his cock into her. She tensed, so he stopped.

"I'm good," she said. "I just need to get used to the feeling."

He nodded and inch his way a little further, pausing every few seconds to check on her. Finally, he was entirely sheathed inside of her, filling her completely.

"Oh my god, Maureen," he sighed. "You feel _amazing_."

For the first time, Maureen didn't feel the need to cry, or push away, or scream. There was no pain, but instead a feeling that she was completely connected to Peter. He started to move slowly in and out, sending a ripple of pleasure through her.

"Wow. Peter, holy shit."

He pressed against her and kissed her fully, mouth open, tongue massaging hers. As he did, he thrust almost entirely in and out of her. They broke apart from the kiss as Maureen moaned again.

"Peter," she groaned. In response, Peter sat up, still thrusting, and pressed a thumb to her clit. Her pelvis jumped at the touch. "Holy. Shit. Peter…" Her words were staccato as she tried to catch her breath, the pleasure overwhelming her.

He swiped his finger downward to catch some of the juices that slicked his cock within her and rubbed them against her clit.

"Peter, I'm so close."

"Yes, cum for me." Peter thrust deeper, rubbing her clit, and reached down with his free hand to pinch her nipple. The combination undid her.

She soared on the high, legs trembling as every nerve lit up.

Peter slowed his movement for a moment. "Do you want me to pull out?"

Maureen shook her head, still relishing in her orgasm. "Cum in me. I want to feel it."

"And you're still on your birth control?" Peter hesitated.

She laughed. "Yes. The IUD hasn't gone anywhere."

Peter relaxed and sped up, the feel of her intoxicating him. With a shudder and a rush, he came and wilted on top of her.

They stayed like that for a minute, Peter still tucked inside her. A bit reluctantly, he finally pulled himself out and settled next to her. She drew herself up so that her head rested on his chest, as he caressed her arm with his finger, his mind hazy from the orgasm.

"Thank you." Her voice was quiet but filled with emotion.

"For what?"

"Everything, really. But also for being patient, and for making that the best redemptive first time a woman could have."

Peter kissed the top of her head. "It was worth the wait. And I'm glad I got to be your _real_ first time. I'm glad I could make it what you wanted it to be."

"It's really going to suck going back to school next month now, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Sex gets addicting quickly. But look on the bright side."

"Hmm?"

"It'll just make our reunions even better."

Maureen draped her arm across his chest.

"Hey, Maureen?"

"Hey, Peter."

"You're my favorite."


End file.
